Double Time
by cmar
Summary: PRTF: What happened in the future while the Time Force Rangers were in 2001? What happened after they returned? Time Force and beyond Alex's story, in his own words. In 'Time' series. Complete.
1. In the Beginning

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

This is a story centered on Alex, the Time Force story of the series, and my continuations, from his point of view. It shares plotlines and some scenes with the series and my other stories, but is not just a rehash. Originally intended to be only a few chapters - I can honestly say it grew in the telling. It's also more thoughtful, and perhaps more romantic that my others. 

Please note: It's based on my AU version of Time Force; Trip and Katie are mutants, Trip is not an alien, Alex and Jen are from 2200, not 3000, the morphers etc. were all created scientifically. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

In the Beginning

* * *

My name is Alex. Alex Drake, to be precise, although we don't use family names much anymore. Yes, the same Alex Drake who's the double of Wesley Collins, the same one who's related to him in a way I'd rather not think about. But more on him later. 

Where should I start? Or maybe I should say, when should I start? All of it really started when I met her, the woman this story is really about. But at the very beginning probably would be best. I was born in the year 2170. That makes me thirty-two, now, in 2202. There's been a few times I thought I'd never live this long. 

I could talk about my childhood, but it wouldn't be relevant. Suffice it to say I grew up in a reasonably nice family, a reasonably nice home, and was a reasonably happy child. My parents didn't always have much time for me, and they expected a great deal, but I'm better for that in the long run. From them I learned to work hard, to be persistent, and to demand the same from others. 

Since I was just a child watching the vids I knew I wanted to be in Time Force. They protect the timestream, shield reality itself from harm, do battle with powerful enemies -- including mutants, the most awe-inspiring of opponents -- and the uniforms are completely cool. Irresistible for a twelve-year-old boy. 

Once I had a goal, I of course set out to accomplish it, and what I want, I get. Most of the time. I studied law enforcement, temporal mechanics, and history in school, and prepared myself physically with martial arts. Fortunately I'm highly intelligent and quite healthy and strong. I say that not with any lack of modesty, we're all built that way, what with genetic modification keeping anything defective out of the gene pool, but even on our bell curve, I'm lucky enough to be quite a bit above average. 

Naturally, I got into Time Force Academy without a problem, on the first try. Staying there was a different matter. I was used to being better than just about everyone at just about everything. TF Academy, naturally, only accepts the best, and has the smartest and most accomplished student body around. In that rarefied atmosphere, it came as a shock to realize I was no longer the best and brightest. 

It was a challenge, and I love a challenge. I dived in, worked harder than ever, and managed to make an impression. At the sacrifice of anything resembling a social life, of course, but that didn't seem important at the time. Now I realize I was setting myself up for trouble, by neglecting the one area where I did not excel. Dealing with other people. 

My studies came to an end at their scheduled time, and I began my career. First as a trainee, then a full-fledged agent. The work was hard, but I loved it. Doing something important, something challenging -- there's that word again -- something I'm damn good at; there's nothing more fulfilling. I began to impress my superiors, even Captain Logan, my commanding officer and one of the truly important people at Time Force. Life was good, almost perfect. But about to get better. 

* * *

She was a rookie when I met her. Jen, Jennifer Scotts, if you're interested in her full name. Why I noticed her right away I really couldn't say. She's pretty, of course, everyone is, except the mutants. She's not outstandingly, glamorously beautiful, nothing like that. Maybe it was her expression. The first time I saw her was at target practice. She wasn't doing very well, and there was the most intense look of determination and concentration on her face. I knew that look, I've worn it many times myself. 

On that day I was assigned to assist in training, showing the newbies around, helping them out, making sure they don't shoot someone by accident. I went up to her, just to lend a hand. 

"You look like you could use a few pointers." 

That was the wrong thing to say, of course, I knew it as soon as she looked up at me. There were resentment and annoyance on her face now, I could practically hear her thinking, _'Who does this condescending jerk think he is?'_

"I'm doing just fine, thanks." She turned back to the target. 

"No offense. I _am_ supposed to be here to help. And, frankly, all of you could use it." 

She smiled at that, and I was halfway gone. The warmth that came into those brown eyes -- it got to me. I smiled back, probably with an incredibly stupid expression on my face. 

"Okay." She faced the target again, and then looked at me when I didn't move. This time she gave me a big, amused grin, her gums showing a little, and I was gone the rest of the way. 

Fortunately I pulled myself together before I seemed like a complete fool, and moved closer, reaching around her to correct her aim and steady her hands on the blaster. "Just hold it level, like that," I said into her ear. "Line up the sights on the target -- pull the trigger smoothly, don't jerk it. That's right." 

Thank goodness, she hit it almost dead center, making me look like a genius. She turned her head and grinned again. I grinned back, totally dazzled. We tried a few more shots, with me coming as close as I dared to putting my arms around her. She didn't seem to mind. She was good, all she needed was a little coaching and she did fine. Soon I had no excuse for spending more time with her. 

"Looks like you don't need me anymore," I said, stepping back. "And I'd better pay some attention to the others." I nervously eyed a young man who had just managed to blast the hell out of a tree, startling several birds from the branches. Luckily the practice blasters don't do much damage. 

"Thanks, again," she said. As I reluctantly started away, she called after me. "What's your name, by the way?" 

_Idiot _should have been my name, for not asking her first. "Alex," I said. "And you?" 

"Jen." 

"Great to meet you. Maybe I'll see you around." Smooth, very smooth. You can tell how experienced I was with women. Anyway, that's how we met. And how my life changed forever. 

* * *

I did see her around, over the next weeks. We became friends, began to meet regularly, usually for me to coach her. Jen was a true perfectionist; she got upset if she didn't do everything just right the first time. Time Force training is difficult for anyone; Jen was good, above average even for TF, but you wouldn't know it by the way she reacted. In a few areas she had trouble, and she thought it was the end of the world, even said she was considering quitting. 

I talked her out of it, tried to convince her that the most important thing was to keep trying, that she didn't need to ace everything right away. _Never give up,_ I told her, a sort of informal motto around Time Force, something that's been an inspiration to me. She started saying it, too. And she tried again, and again, and gave up on getting everything perfect, as long as it was pretty damn close to perfect. 

'Graduation' day came, the day Jen and the others in her training group who had survived were made into full TF agents. I watched Captain Logan give Jen her official badge, feeling as proud as a parent would on seeing their kid sworn in as world president, not that I felt even remotely paternal towards her. She looked in my direction and sent me one of those big smiles. If there was any part of my heart that didn't already belong to her, it was hers after that. 

I took Jen out to celebrate that night, asked her out to dinner, not sure if she understood I meant it as a date, not just a friendly get-together anymore. I thought she looked at me the way a woman looks at a man she likes as more than a friend, but I wasn't sure. We ate, and talked, and gazed into each other's eyes. After dinner we walked, ending up in the park between the two main TF residence halls. It's beautiful there, and private. We sat on a bench among the trees. The moon was up and full, a soft breeze was stirring the leaves, it was perfectly romantic. 

I guess we were both nervous. After we ran out of things to say, I just turned to look at her. She looked back, and raised her face to me. After all the time I had spent planning how to do it, all the ways I had imagined it happening, in the end it was easy, it just felt right and natural to kiss her, putting my arms around her, feeling her kiss me back. 

She told me later she had already been in love with me. I know I was with her. Things seemed perfect, both our careers were on track, we were in love. As with all perfect situations, it didn't last. 

* * *

As soon as I heard about the Ranger program, I wanted in. It was quite simply the most exciting project to come along in Time Force since time travel itself. Command wanted the best available agent to be the first Ranger. I was determined to be that agent. 

The Power Rangers were developed as a way of enabling ordinary mortals like us to personally go up against mutants, many of whom were extremely powerful. We needed this, it often took whole squads to defeat one mutant, and there were an unfortunate number of casualties. The Ranger suit would not only make its wearer stronger and provide weapons, it gave him or her a certain amount of protection as well. 

There was some stiff competition, but I had an outstanding record, and I wanted it more than anyone else. When the time came, I was selected as the first Ranger. I can't describe the thrill, or how proud I was. Did it bother me that I was essentially a guinea pig in a pilot program? Hell no. I was first, that's how I saw it. My name would go down in history. Maybe I'd be remembered as a hero. 

Jen and I celebrated that night, too, in our personal way. She was almost as excited as I was, not only for me, but because she had been accepted for the second stage of the program, she and a few others would become Rangers after I had tested the systems sufficiently. We would become a team. 

We all went into training together. There were three more members of our little Ranger unit. We met for the first time in a small laboratory where we would receive our orientation. Jen and I stepped through the door and saw another young man waiting, tall and handsome even by genetically improved standards. 

Jen walked up to him and held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Jen, this is Alex." 

He looked both of us over, in a friendly enough way. "I'm Lucas," he said. "Alex. You're the guy they picked to be first, aren't you? The one getting a morpher right away?" 

"Yes, well, someone has to be first." 

He looked both eager and curious. "Have you done it yet? Morphed?" 

"No. But Logan said I'd do it today." 

"Wow. Think we'll get to watch?" 

"I don't see why not. But it's not up to me." 

We all turned as the last two people walked in. They were a tall woman and a very young man with green hair, obviously a case of gen-imp gone a little too far. Later I would find out that she was also, that both of them had genetically improved abilities. 

Around this point you may be wondering exactly what the difference is between human and mutant in these gen-imp times, when almost everyone's genes have been tampered with in some way. It's a good question, one that everyone with more than half a brain wonders about at some time. I don't have a good answer, and I doubt anyone does. Some people would say if a person _looks_ human, he or she _is_ human. Others might get into the details of what had been changed, calling anyone a mutant who has abilities outside the extremes of the human range. Still others would simply say they know one when they see one. 

Anyway, our two new teammates looked human enough except for his green hair, and it's none of my business anyway. 

"Hi, I'm Katie," the tall woman said. 

"And I'm Trip," said the green-haired man. They both smiled and we went through a round of handshakes. 

Before we could start a conversation, none other than Captain Logan himself walked through the door, accompanied by one of the Time Force scientists. I recognized her; Rachel was part of the team that had developed the morphers. We would be getting our orientation straight from the source. At Logan's signal, we all took our seats. 

Logan stood to address us. "This is an historic occasion," he started. Just as I was mentally rolling my eyes, he smiled. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it happens to be true. This is our first complete trial of a revolutionary new personal weapons and defense system. If successful, it will change the nature of combat for Time Force. These morphers could save many lives." 

He held up the device itself for us to admire. I had seen it before, but I have to admit it was still a thrill. It was oval, perhaps eight centimeters long by six wide, with a strap attached. Not very imposing to look at, really, but we all made suitable noises of admiration and awe. We all knew what it could do. 

Logan introduced Rachel and turned the meeting over to her. To my surprise, the first thing she did was hand me the morpher. "I think the best way to start would be a demonstration," she said. 

"Are you sure it's safe?" I blurted out, realizing how foolish I sounded as she smiled. 

"Of course it's safe. We don't take risks with our best agents' lives." 

"Sorry. What do I do?" 

"Just put it on. The first thing it'll do is analyze your DNA and lock onto it. You'll see a red flash." 

More hesitantly than I like to admit, I did what she said, placing the morpher on my left wrist. The strap seemed to move of its own will, firmly closing around my wrist. I felt a slight tingle. I was expecting the display to flash red, but a sudden shimmer of red light ran over my entire body. All of us gave a nervous start. 

"That was the DNA lock becoming active," Rachel went on. "Now, Alex is the only one who can use the morpher. All of the morphers are programmed to lock on to the first person who uses them, as a security precaution. We're also experimenting with other locking methods, such as voice. Can't take the chance of one of these getting into the wrong hands." 

I had been only half listening, while staring at the display on the morpher. It had a slightly domed face, with several buttons. "What now?" I asked, looking up. 

"Now -- anytime you're ready, activate it by pushing the button nearest your hand." She grinned. "But be ready. It's going to be a little -- startling." 

Being of course a big strong Time Force agent, I couldn't let any of them see that I was scared. I smiled and said something heroically nonchalant like, "Here goes nothing!" and pressed the button. 

I've morphed since then, many times, but that memory still stands out as one of the most exciting events of my life. There was another, much brighter flash of light all around my body, and the most exhilarating sensation went through me, of energy and power, leaving me feeling like I could leap over tall buildings or bend steel with my bare hands. The light was gone after a second and we all just stood there, the others staring at me, me staring down at myself. I had become the Red Ranger, my body completely covered by a red and white form-fitting outfit, my head in a helmet. Everyone's familiar with the suits, now, so I won't bore you with a detailed description. Suffice it to say we were all -- impressed. 

* * *

I don't think I really came back to Earth and started paying attention to what was going on around me until after the orientation was over and all five of us had gone out to dinner, to get to know each other, and just to talk. The first thing we did was to tell each other a little about ourselves. I went first, quickly skipping over family and personal history and giving a brief description of my Time Force career. 

Jen was next. I listened with as much interest as the others. She rarely talked about herself, even to me. "There's nothing much to tell," she started. "I grew up in the Midwest, went to school, the usual things." Her eyes fell. "My parents died in an accident when I was fourteen." 

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." Katie murmured. 

"Thanks, but it was a long time ago. Anyway, my uncle and aunt raised me after that. They were okay, but we weren't close. I came to Silver City for college, and went into Time Force when I graduated." 

The rest of us were silent for a moment until Katie spoke up again. "How long have the two of you known each other?" 

"It's been a little over a year now. We met while I was still a trainee." 

"That's great." Katie gave us a big smile. "I was born in New York, and grew up there. Applied to Time Force right out of college, like you. This is the first time I've been away from home." Her face clouded slightly. "It's been a year, and I still miss my family." 

"You can see them anytime, by vidphone. And you can visit on weekends," Lucas said. 

"It's not the same as living with them. I don't get all the day-to-day stuff. I guess I just don't like living alone," she answered. 

"I miss my family too," Trip said. "My parents are really great. They always did the best they could for me." He smiled at Katie. "Katie's been great, too. She and I were in the same training class, and we've been friends ever since. We -- have a lot in common." 

"Yeah, we're both gen-imp," Katie said, lifting her chin a little. "My strength is enhanced." 

"And I'm mildly psychic and enhanced for intelligence and mechanical ability." Trip looked at us, a little defiantly. "I don't mind being called a mutant." 

Jen, Lucas, and I exchanged a glance. We could all sympathize with Trip and to some extent with Katie. There was a good deal of prejudice against mutants, and with that green hair he undoubtedly had grown up being called 'mutie' and other charming names. His remark about his parents was significant, too, many kids in his situation would have blamed his parents for going too far in the gen-imp department. 

Lucas apparently decided his turn had come. "I was born and grew up right here," he said. "Never felt the urge to leave. My parents are split, so I used to move back and forth between the south side and the north side, to spend time with both of them. Went to college, joined Time Force. I've always loved racing -- anything fast, but mostly racecars --- and I'm interesting in becoming a pilot." 

"Piloting timeships?" I asked. 

"Yeah, to fly one of those things, actually going through time -- what a thrill!" 

"Seeing other times, how people lived, yeah. That's what I joined up for," Katie said dreamily. 

"I don't want to actually live in the past," Lucas said with a grimace. "All that primitive technology..." 

"It's not likely that any of us will ever time travel," I said. "Too dangerous to the timestream." It was true, Time Force's main, most important mission was to prevent anyone from traveling into the past and changing history. 

After a brief silence Trip changed the subject. "I still can't get over seeing you morph, Alex. I knew what was going to happen, of course. I'd seen pictures of the suit. But to actually see it happen -- wow!" He grinned enthusiastically. "This is such a step forward in hyperspace technology!" 

"Incredible that they can get all of that equipment into that little morpher," Lucas said. 

"It's not _in_ the morpher," Trip said. "The suit and weapons are in hyperspace, where there's no real location or dimensions, not the way we understand them. All the morpher does is translate them from hyperspace to here, and put them back when you're done with them." 

"What happens to our clothes when we morph?" Katie asked. 

"They go into hyperspace, and get replaced by the suit." 

Jen grinned. "Let's hope the morpher doesn't get confused, and forget to bring your clothes back when you demorph." 

Trip was almost indignant. "They're designed better than that. Besides, it takes energy to hold regular objects like your clothing in hyperspace. Even if the morpher fails and there's a forcible demorph, your clothes will come back, because that's the natural state of the matter that they're made of..." He trailed off as he realized Jen had been joking, and we were all laughing at him. He's a good sport, he started to laugh, too. 

"So, Alex, how did it feel?" Katie asked. 

I shrugged. "It felt -- great. You'll find out for yourselves soon enough. I don't want to spoil it." 

Jen took my arm. "Oh, come on. Tell us." 

"Very energizing." I smiled, a little uncomfortably. "It's hard to describe. But -- I can't wait to do it again. And to use the suit in action." 

"You may get your chance soon," Lucas said. "I'll bet they want you to use it against Ransik." 

All of us sobered quickly at the thought. Ransik was the mutant all of us dreamed of capturing, the self-proclaimed archenemy of humanity. He and his group of militant mutants were dangerous and vicious, and he had proved hard to track down and harder to defeat. If I could get him -- it would be a triumph for Time Force, for the Ranger program, and for me. I felt Jen squeeze my arm tightly and looked down into her concerned face. Going up against Ransik could make me a hero. It could also make me dead. 

* * *

TBC... 


	2. Trial by Fire

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Alcott, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

This chapter shares events and some dialogue with 'Force from the Future, Part 1'. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Trial by Fire

* * *

I got my chance only two months later, months filled with training. By that time I knew that suit inside and out. I was ready, or thought I was. Jen and the others were in training too, their morphers weren't ready yet, but they learned as much as they could in the classroom, and by watching me. Those were good times, filled with promise and anticipation. 

Then everything was put to the test. I faced my first real challenge, and what a challenge it was. Ransik had struck again, invading a Time Force research facility outside of our main headquarters. I was home, with Jen, when I got an urgent summons to the Rangers project lab. 

Logan and Rachel were waiting, looking both impatient and anxious, when I came through the door. They came to meet me. Logan didn't waste any words. 

"Alex. You know the situation?" 

"All I know is Ransik was spotted at the Temporal Research lab." 

"He's taken over the building. Threw the scientists out. No fatalities, fortunately. Barricaded himself inside. Got a bunch of his robots with him." 

"What could he want there?" 

Logan sighed. "They're working on portable timehole generators. That must be what he's after." 

All three of us exchanged an apprehensive look. This was back when most of the generators were still big enough to fill a small room, and before we had reliable timehole detection systems. A timehole generator small enough to be portable would be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. If Ransik got it, it would disappear into his underground network, until he was ready to use it. He would be able to escape from us through time, and, more importantly, he would be able to disrupt the timestream. Change history, if he wanted to. And sooner or later, that's what he would decide to do. 

Rachel broke the silence. "This is it, Alex. We need you to go after him, with the suit." 

"We have the building surrounded, he can't get away," Logan continued. "But we want to send you in alone. Avoid risking other lives. But -- it's on a volunteer basis." 

There was no real choice, of course. This was what the Ranger program was all about, this was what I was there for. I nodded. "I volunteer. Let's go." 

Rachel handed me the morpher with a smile that was only slightly shaky. I put it on. Logan and I headed out at a run. 

* * *

I don't think I ever saw so many Time Force officers in one place. There was a sea of us around that building. Spotlights were trained on the entrances, as if Ransik might slip out unseen. Logan and I passed through, his authority -- and his size -- opening a path for us. We stopped just outside a side door. 

"Good luck," he said. He held out his hand. 

"Thanks." I smiled confidently as we shook hands, wishing that was how I felt on the inside. 

I morphed just inside the door, where Logan could still see me. As the flash of light faded, I took a last look back, seeing him and a mass of officers watching. Then I was on my own, in a large, empty building, dark now that the power had been cut off, alone with a powerful madman and a pack of homicidal robots. 

_No problem,_ I said to myself. _Logan knows I can do it._ He must be right. At least I hoped so. Quietly, I started deeper into the building, listening for any sign of my opponent. Even with the suit's sound detection, I couldn't hear anything until I was on the stairs. 

Then I heard him, all right. He must have seen a few too many bad movies. He was laughing manically. Really. Not very loudly, just this deep chuckle that managed to sound evil. What he found to laugh about when he was surrounded by Time Force, I couldn't imagine. 

I reached the top of the stairs and crept closer, grateful that the suit made it easy to move silently. This floor was apparently some kind of storage space, it was cluttered with crates, boxes, and various pieces of equipment, making it easy for me to find cover. I got as close as I dared, and peered between two large boxes. There he was. 

I'd seen pictures, of course, but there's nothing like the real thing. Ransik was tall, and big, and he seemed to be all muscle. His hair was long and black, hanging over his shoulders. His face, when he turned in my direction, was lined and no longer young, but would have been handsome if he wasn't disfigured by several scars crisscrossing one side. I just stared for a moment, scars are unusual, since they're so easy to remove. Even a fugitive like Ransik would be able to get that level of medical care. Perhaps he liked the look. Or maybe he figured there was no point. Several gleaming, metallic spikes protruded from various places on his body, ensuring that he would never look human. 

There were maybe a dozen of his robots moving around him. The name he called them came back to me. Cyclobots. They were very humanoid, even moving in an almost human way, but their heads were just round helmets and their bodies were silvery and metallic. 

Then I saw what he was holding. It was a piece of machinery, just small enough for him to carry in his hands. I recognized it immediately, a miniature timehole generator, one of the newest, smallest ones. Ransik had already found what he was looking for. As he lifted the machine level with his face, examining it, I stepped out from concealment. 

He saw me and lowered the generator, watching me intently as I took a few more steps. I took my Time Force badge from my belt and held it out. "I'm placing you under arrest, Ransik," I said. To my surprise, my voice was steady. 

He grinned and laughed again, a little. "You don't know what you're up against," he said. 

"Neither do you." I wondered just how much he knew about the Ranger program. He must at least suspect what I could do, but he seemed absolutely confident. We both began to walk, slowly, circling each other, waiting for the first move. 

I started for him, and he grabbed the nearest carton and shoved it at me. His strength was incredible, I could see it was heavy but it came at me _fast_. I leaped up, used the carton as a springboard, and landed on Ransik, feet first, kicking him as hard as I could. He didn't seem to feel it, just swatted me off. I hit the floor and rolled back to my feet. The suit was incredible, too. I hardly felt the impact, and my strength and speed were almost a match for one of the most powerful mutants around. It was exhilarating. I told myself not to get overconfident, but it wasn't easy. 

He had put the generator down on a box to fight me, and I jumped for it. With that mutant speed he leaped to intercept me and a moment later we were wrestling for it. I believe I mentioned how strong he was. Even with the suit I was losing. I needed to beat him with skill, or weaponry, and quickly pulled away. We faced each other again, circling. 

"I've heard about those suits," he said, his voice deep and growling. 

"Does it live up to your expectations?" 

"And more. Time Force has outdone itself. I see I'll have to do something about it." 

"You won't get the chance." 

He grinned again. "Typical Time Force arrogance. With all your technology you're not as strong as I am, yet you boast as if you'd beaten me already." 

"Strength isn't all that counts in a fight." 

"Perhaps." He sprang forward, trying to grab me. 

We both knew his best chance was to get a hold on me, and use that superior strength to crush me. And _my_ best chance was to stay out of his reach and hit him fast and hard. I danced away. Time was against me, I saw him glance around at the cyclobots surrounding us like an audience, and knew what he was thinking. 

I charged even as he took a breath to order them to attack, leaping into the air to hit him with a kick again, bouncing back and spinning away, summoning my blaster. I fired, hitting him at full force, had to take the chance it would kill him. But I needn't have worried, he staggered but seemed not to be hurt. Then he had pulled his own blaster, and I was dodging the beam, throwing myself to the floor, jumping back to my feet, whirling to blast the nearest robots. 

"Cyclobots!" he roared, and the remaining ones started to move in. 

I blasted at them, and vaulted over a stack of crates as I saw Ransik aiming for me again. As I landed I saw the labeling and knew what was in them. "No, don't shoot!" I screamed as he aimed again, then all I could do was take a running start and jump as far as I could, landing behind the largest piece of discarded machinery I could reach in the split-seconds I had before the next shot set off the explosive solid fuel stored in those crates. 

The blast flattened me, even shielded behind a few tons of metal. Flames shot past me, I could feel the shock waves. The suit did its job magnificently, I was shaken up and felt bruised, but that was all. After a few seconds, I cautiously stepped out and took a look. 

The cyclobots were trash. Everything flammable was going up in smoke. The windows had all been blown out. Unbelievably, Ransik was still alive, lying on the floor, trying to push himself to his hands and knees. I made my way over to him. His blaster was nowhere in sight, and he seemed dazed and weakened. The timehole generator was only a few steps away, I retrieved it and went back to Ransik. 

I grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, dragging him along to the stairs. We staggered down to the first floor, which was filling with smoke; only the sensors in my helmet let me navigate toward the door. There were more, smaller explosions behind us. Finally we were stumbling out, seeing the spotlights and the crowds of TF officers, me pushing Ransik ahead, still clutching the generator. 

I'll never forget the look on Logan's face when he saw us, relief, pride, perhaps joy. He motioned, and a squad moved in on Ransik. He struggled, but in his weakened state they had no trouble with him. In a few moments he was in shackles, being led away. With that taken care of, I looked around. 

That's when I saw Jen. She was standing, watching, with Lucas, Trip, and Katie, all of them smiling, their faces practically glowing, especially Jen's. As she started towards me I raised the morpher, pressed the control button, and demorphed in another flash of light. Jen stepped up to face me, that big warm grin on her face, and then her arms were around me, and I was holding her tight. Sometimes I wish that moment could have lasted forever, it was so filled with perfect triumph, pride, and love. 

* * *

The next weeks were busy, as we prepared for Ransik's trial. That involved the lawyers and Logan mostly, but I had to go over my planned testimony. I also had to go through a few detailed debriefings. Rachel and Logan wanted to know every detail of how the suit had performed. After only two more sessions my training period was declared at an end, and the morpher was officially issued to me, which meant I was expected to wear it all the time, something I was happy to do. I also became something of a celebrity, was interviewed by the news services and vidzines, and started to catch people staring at me. 

Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie were busy, too, as they started more intensive training. Each of us would be a different color. Jen was assigned pink, a choice she found rather amusing, if a little irritating. Several modifications had been made to my morpher, and as soon as theirs were adjusted also and tested, they would be ready to morph for the first time. I wanted to be there when she had that experience, wished I would be able to see her face through the helmet. Both of us couldn't wait for her to join me as a Ranger, for all of us to be a team. 

Then the trial started. All of us attended, of course, along with everyone who could find a way to get a pass into the courtroom. Everyone's seen the vids of that first day, Ransik being brought in, chained to contain his mutant strength, standing in the middle of the floor under that bright white light. He stood straight and proud, and stared at the judges defiantly. I could almost admire him. 

"Ransik's going down this time, for sure," Katie said. She was sitting next to me in the viewers' section, Trip and Lucas on her other side, Jen on my other side, her hand in mine. 

"Nothing's for sure," Lucas answered. 

"No," I said. "With all the evidence against him -- there's no way he's getting out of this." 

"Ready to testify?" Jen asked me, her fingers squeezing my hand. 

"Ready as I'll ever be." To tell the truth, I didn't relish the idea of getting up in that witness box, in front of everyone, with all that light glaring down on me. But it was necessary. 

"Come on, smile, this is a good thing," Katie said to Trip, nudging him. I noticed that he was frowning. 

"I don't know. I just don't have a good feeling about this," he said. 

"You and your feelings," Katie said with a laugh. Trip glanced at her, his frown deepening. 

I returned my attention to the trial as the court announcer called for attention and began to read the charges. Ransik raised his chin and turned his head, his eyes moving over the audience until they stopped on one person. Following his gaze, I saw a young woman, pretty, with bright pink hair. 

"Nadira," I heard Jen murmur beside me. 

"Yes." 

"Why did they let her in here?" 

"She's not charged with anything, Ransik never involved her, at least not so we could prove it. And she _is_ his daughter. She has the right to see her father's trial." 

"She's up to something. Just look at her." 

It was true, I was as sure as Jen. Nadira and her father exchanged a nod. She smiled, not a smile meant to reassure and comfort, a smile that was full of confidence and malice. 

* * *

The trial only lasted three days. The testimony went quickly, including mine, for which I was grateful. Ransik had opted for a juryless trial, and with only the judges hearing evidence things moved fast. The defense didn't even bother to present a case, as if Ransik and his lawyers had given up. Or didn't care. At the end of the third day the judges retired to consider their verdict. 

As the audience broke up and started to leave, I took Jen's hand and led her out to a balcony I had found on an upper floor earlier. It was small, and private, and offered a spectacular view of downtown Silver City. The perfect setting for what I was planning. We gazed at the view for a few minutes, but I preferred looking at Jen. I turned to face her. 

"With Ransik put away, we'll have some time to spend together," I said. 

Jen smiled at me and laughed lightly. "That would be a nice change. Having an actual date with my boyfriend." 

"Actually, I was thinking of something a little more permanent." I already had the box in my hand. I lifted it and showed it to her, opening it to reveal the engagement ring inside before I went on. "Jen, will you marry me?" 

She stared at the ring, and then at my face, that big grin coming at me again. Then she put her arms around my neck and hugged me. 

"Hey, does that mean 'yes'?" I asked. 

"Yes! Alex…" 

I moved back just long enough to slip the ring on her finger, and then kissed her. It was a wonderful moment, under the sky, the city lights gleaming around us. "From now on, it's you and me…" I said softly. 

"Forever." Her eyes sparkled. Perfect. 

* * *

As promised, the judges delivered their verdict the next day. Jen had just finished showing her ring to the others, even Logan, who had joined us for the announcement. Ransik was brought in, to take up his place on the floor. We saw Nadira in her seat. The courtroom hushed as the judges came in. 

"We find the defendant guilty of all charges. He is sentenced to confinement for life." 

There was more, but it was drowned out by the commotion. A buzz of excited talk rose, applause broke out, we all turned to each other, smiling, patting backs. I shook hands with Logan. In the midst of this, the guards began to take Ransik out. He resisted, making them drag him. I saw him exchange another look with his daughter, who seemed quite angry at the celebration surrounding her, although she must have been expecting it. 

Then he was passing in front of us, his face turning to us, full of hate and arrogance. He stood there for a moment, staring at us, the guards unable to move him. He smiled, and there was something savage in that smile that went through me like an icy current. I felt Jen tense and stiffen next to me, her hand tightening on mine. Then they were pulling him away, and he was disappearing through the door into the detention area. I glanced at the others, seeing their smiles gone. 

* * *

It was the next day when we moved him. Ransik had been assigned to the Special Prisoners Center, the prison designed especially for mutants, who tended to be hard to control. Transporting him was a problem, considering that many of his followers were still loose, and likely to make an attempt to rescue him. After some deliberation, we came up with a plan. 

As the only active Power Ranger, and the man who had captured Ransik, I was the obvious choice to escort him. For precisely that reason, I was assigned to accompany a fake transport, while the rest of the team -- Jen, Lucas, Katie, and Trip -- would guard Ransik in what appeared to be an ordinary freight trailer. Presumably Ransik's allies would attack in the wrong place, and I would be there to fight them. It was a good plan, and it should have worked. 

Jen and I had a few minutes to ourselves, just before they left. Together, we watched as Ransik was brought out, wrestled into the trailer, where we knew he would be fastened into a highly reinforced set of manacles. 

"Worried?" I asked Jen. 

"A little," she said. "Can't help it." 

"I wish all of you had your morphers." Their morphers were ready, but they still had to begin hands-on training with them. 

"So do I. But we'll be fine." She smiled at me. "What could happen?" 

"I can think of a few things." 

"You're more likely to be attacked than us." Her head bowed. 

I took her hands gently. "Don't worry. With the suit, nothing's going to hurt me." 

We looked up as Lucas called to us. Everything was ready. Lucas swung himself up into the trailer cab and settled himself behind the wheel. Katie and Trip put on their helmets, ready to mount their vectorcycles and ride escort. 

"Well, this is it. Good luck," Jen said. 

"Stay safe." I leaned in to kiss her, and watched her run to the back of the trailer. She would sit inside, with Ransik. My stomach clenched at the thought of her alone with that monster. But she was doing her job. She could handle it. 

* * *

It was only perhaps an hour later when the call came. My duty had gone uneventfully; the official prison transport vehicle I was escorting had made the trip safely and arrived at the prison. I had taken a ground car back. It came over the car's communicator, Logan's voice, calling me, trouble obvious in his voice. 

"Alex, we have an emergency. Nadira and Frax knew about the transport somehow. They ambushed it. Ransik has escaped. We have word he's broken into the Mobile Containment ship." 

"He escaped?" My heart froze. "Jen?" 

"She and the others are fine. Just shaken up. You've got to get to the prison ship. Alex -- that ship is equipped for time travel, with one of the ship-sized generators we've been experimenting with. Ransik may be after it." 

"Right. I'm on my way." 

I turned around and headed for the Mobile Containment prison, a prison built into a large ship capable of flight. It was very close, in fact I would probably get there before any reinforcements. On the way, I wondered what Ransik wanted with it, besides access to a timehole generator. Then it came to me, three of his closest followers were imprisoned there. Conwing, Brickneck, and Steelix. Mutant soldiers, all of them, all strong and deadly. He intended to free them, and he probably intended to use a timehole to escape. And it was up to me to stop him. 

In the minutes it took me to get there, I called Jen on her personal phone, against regulations, of course, to use TF communications for what was really a personal reason, but I didn't care. Her voice answered, sounding breathless and upset. 

"Jen, are you all right?" 

"Alex!" A slight pause. "You heard." Now there was defeat in her tone. 

"Yes. I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Is everyone okay?" 

"We're fine. Any sign of Ransik?" 

"He's broken into the Mobile prison. I'm heading there now." 

"Alex -- wait for us, we'll meet you…" 

"I've got to stop him before he frees the prisoners." 

"Alex…" 

"I have to go." I was there, at the prison ship. I hung up, stopped the car, and got out. There were a few guards outside the doors of the administration building adjoining the actual ship, some unconscious, all injured. They wouldn't be any help, and I couldn't spare any time for them. I ran inside. 

Once inside the doors, I stopped long enough to morph, the light of transformation reflecting off the cold surfaces of the small reception room I was standing in. I was familiar with the layout. If I went up to the roof on the main stairs, I could cross over to the ship, and there was a hatch and a utility stairway that led back down to the prisoner area. They wouldn't know about it, they'd never see me coming. 

Or that was what I thought. Too late, I saw a surveillance camera in the stairwell and realized Ransik might see me on the security monitors. But the plan was still good, he wasn't likely to be watching the monitors, not likely to be in the main control room. I continued up to the roof. When I stepped though the door into the open, I realized my luck had been bad. He was there, waiting for me, that rapacious smile on his face, ready to claim vengeance for his defeat at my hands. At least he was alone. I stiffened my spine and faced him. 

"Red Ranger," he growled. "You're either very stubborn, or very foolish." 

"Neither. I brought you in once, and I'll do it again." 

"You're wrong." He started towards me. 

We were in the open, no cover for me, nothing to use against him except the suit, its weapons, and my own abilities. And this time he knew what to expect. But so did I. We circled each other, slowly, in a repeat of the last time. 

I attacked, leaping to kick him. He swung a fist at me. I evaded the blow, kicked him in the shoulder and got him with a punch, then jumped out of range as he grabbed at me. We went on like that for a few minutes. He was smiling the whole time. Finally I got tired of the game -- and realized I'd never beat him in hand-to-hand combat -- and held up my morpher to summon the blaster. I should have had it ready all along. 

Ransik was too fast, he had his blaster out before I could press the morpher button, and shot me. It was a powerful blast at close range, it knocked me to my knees. He was on me just as fast, grabbing my arm, pulling me up, and driving a fist into my belly. I staggered back, but kept my feet and reached for the morpher again. He punched me in the stomach again, then kicked me in the head as I doubled over in pain. I saw stars. This time he grabbed me from behind, his arm around my neck in a choke hold, a hand holding my arm behind my back. I was helpless, unable to break his grip, even with the suit. 

"You may beat _me_, but you'll never escape Time Force!" I gasped in approved heroic manner. 

"Where I'm going, Time Force doesn't exist yet. And after I'm done, it never will." 

I struggled harder. The threat was unmistakable. He intended to escape into the past, not only escape, but alter history somehow, to prevent Time Force from existing. This was precisely what we were supposed to prevent. What _I_ had to prevent. 

"No," I said. "You can't… you can't predict what will happen if you change history!" 

"I know what I'm doing. My people will finally have the power we need to defeat you humans." 

"It's too dangerous!" 

I heard a voice scream my name. Jen's voice. Ransik turned, holding me in front of him as a shield. Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie were emerging from the main stairwell. I realized they must have been nearby when I called, and had somehow gotten here to help me. Again, I tried to pull away, in vain. 

Ransik spoke softly, so only I could hear. "This is nothing personal, Ranger. I rather admire your courage. But I can't allow the Ranger program to be a success. And I can't have you coming after me." 

The next instant, he loosened his grip. I felt his blaster press into my back, and then the pain as he shot me point-blank. The suit couldn't take it, a sensation like electricity ran through me as the morpher failed and I demorphed back into my uniform, almost paralyzed with the shock. Ransik released me and shot again. This time I screamed. 

After a few moments of agony, I opened my eyes. I was lying on my back, Jen cradling my head in her lap. Even if I didn't know how badly I was hurt, her face would have told me. Above us, in the sky, I could see a swirl of black and violet. A timehole. Ransik must have escaped. I had just enough strength to raise my hands and remove my morpher. 

"Take it," I said to Jen. "Take the other morphers. They're in the lab. You have to go after Ransik. He's going into the past, to change history… prevent Time Force from existing… you have to stop him…" 

She was sobbing. "No, I can't…" 

"You can. Promise… promise me!" 

"All right. I promise." Her face twisted with grief. 

I raised my hand to her cheek, trying to wipe away the tears. "You and me…" I whispered. 

"Forever…" Her face was the last thing I saw as everything began to darken and I felt my eyes closing and my arm became too heavy to hold up. 

And then... then I died. 

* * *


	3. Shadow of Death

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

This is an AU; Alex's future is the year 2200, there's no communication between the two times at this point, no zords or megazords except the Q-Rex - in somewhat different form. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Shadow of Death

* * *

I had dreams as I lay in that hospital bed, fighting for my life, terrifying nightmares of fire and destruction, visions of myself with Jen, saying and doing things that hadn't happened, at least not in my world. Twisted dreams of a Time Force that was different somehow, of living in a city, and a world, that seemed _wrong_ in some way I couldn't quite define. Just dreams, but later they would seem significant. 

A woman's voice spoke to me, weaving in and out of those other worlds. Sometimes it seemed to be Jen, sometimes I knew it was someone else. I could see her face, but it was Jen's face, and Rachel's, and my mother's, and the face of every woman I had ever known. Only her hand holding mine seemed real and substantial, I could feel it often, holding me back, keeping me from drifting away. 

The first time I remember opening my eyes, I was staring up at a white ceiling. There's something about hospitals, the look, the sounds, the smell. I knew instantly where I was. The room I was in was empty. The effort of a few moments of looking around was too much; I went back to sleep, without dreaming this time. 

Maybe you're wondering what the hell I was doing dreaming, or opening my eyes, in a hospital or anywhere else, considering I just said I had died? It's a long story, and the answer will become obvious. All I'll say for now is that I _did_ die. Or I lived. Depending on which reality you're talking about. 

The next time I woke up, I saw faces, familiar ones. Captain Logan and Rachel were sitting by the window, talking quietly. Neither of them noticed that I had my eyes open. It was nice, peaceful, the room was sunny, the window was open a little, and I could smell and feel the fresh air. For a few moments that was all I noticed or cared about, as their conversation continued. 

"We still can't make contact," Logan was saying. 

"But they must have gotten there safely. They must be doing something to stop Ransik. All we've seen so far are relatively minor shifts in reality." 

"True. But the timestream is still disrupted, and it's getting worse. That means he's doing _something_ back then." He sighed. "Maybe they're all right. But we just don't know. I don't see how they could have activated the morphers, and without them they don't have a chance. Those damned controls…" 

Rachel's voice was unhappy. "We thought they were a good idea at the time." 

"I know. Not anyone's fault. No one could have anticipated this situation." Logan paused and sighed heavily again. "Maybe he's just waiting for the right time. Maybe… Damn it, we don't even know what he'll try to change. We don't know if they made it. Just the fact that they haven't responded when we tried to communicate…" 

"That doesn't necessarily mean… maybe their equipment was damaged. Maybe they had to hide it from the natives of that time." 

At about this point I began to suspect what -- and who -- they were talking about. "Jen?" I said. It came out as an almost incoherent croak. 

Both of them jumped and stared at me as if I was Ransik himself. "Alex?" Rachel exclaimed. A smile burst over her face. They got up, came close and leaned over the bed. 

"How do you feel?" Logan asked. 

I concentrated and got the words out in a more understandable form this time. "What happened? Where's Jen?" 

They exchanged an uncomfortable glance. "Don't you remember?" Rachel asked. 

"Ransik -- he got away…" It came back, all of it, jolting me closer to full alertness. "We were fighting -- the roof -- Jen…" 

"Yes. You fought Ransik. He shot you." 

"He got away, didn't he?" 

"Don't worry about that now, Alex," Rachel said anxiously. "You need to rest." 

"I told her to go after him." I stared up at them. "She went, didn't she? That's what you were talking about." Another glance between them. I could almost read their minds. "Tell me the truth!" I said as forcefully as I could, considering I was flat on my back. 

Logan pulled a chair over and sat at my bedside. "Yes," he said quietly. "Jen, Lucas, Katie, and Trip took a timeship and went after Ransik. They left just before the timestream became impassable." 

"The morphers…" 

"They took their morphers, and yours." His brows lifted a little. "Why did you give them yours, anyway? You know no one else can use it." 

I took a moment to think, realizing I didn't have a logical answer. "I thought I was dying. Don't know, just wanted her to have it." 

"Probably a good thing," Rachel put in. "We linked the other morphers to yours, as an extra security precaution. The first time they're used, yours must be activated at the same time. The technicians who gave them the morphers didn't know, or didn't think of it -- everything was done in such a hurry, they had to go before the timestream got too disrupted." 

"But no one but me can use it!" 

"Trip might have been able to unlock it with the equipment in the ship… If he figured out how to do it." 

"And if he didn't?" 

Her eyes dropped away from mine. "Then the morphers are all useless. But Trip's a brilliant engineer. I think he could do it." 

"But -- you can't make contact with them?" 

Now Logan was avoiding my gaze. "That's right." 

"Oh, God." I closed my eyes. "What have I done?" 

"You did what you had to do." 

"Jen -- and the rest of them -- they were still just trainees, practically… How could you let them go?" 

"We had to. Jen was desperate to go, she wouldn't wait for orders. By the time we realized how serious the situation was, they had gotten their equipment together, they were the only ones ready, the only ones we could send." 

I thought about it for a few moments. I was worried sick about Jen, but there were other considerations that I had to admit were more important. "You said there's been some changes in reality?" 

"Yes," Rachel said, after another one of those glances at Logan. "Minor shifts, so far. We haven't activated our shielding yet." 

"I suppose we may need it later." 

"We hope not." Logan stood up. "You almost died from that blaster shot. You need to rest if you're going to be any use to us." His tone did not permit any argument. 

"We'll see you later," Rachel said. They both looked back from the doorway, smiles on their faces, but I could see the worry underneath. 

* * *

It was dark outside when I woke up again. The room was darkened, too, just enough light for me to see a human form in the chair next to the bed. I must have made some sound that wakened her, she stirred, blinking, yawned, and smiled at me. 

"Rachel?" I asked. 

"Yes. Feeling better?" 

"Tired." 

"You should be tired. You almost died." 

"That's what Logan said... How long has it been?" 

"You've been in the hospital for over a month." 

"A _month_?" 

"Yes." 

I thought about it for a few seconds. "Rachel -- Ransik shot me with that stepped-up blaster of his -- from only centimeters away -- how am I still alive?" 

"We suspected from the historical record that Ransik escaped into the past. We took extra precautions to protect you, before we sent you to fight him. Don't you remember?" 

"The damper. The shielded uniform." Those memories seemed to click into place, as if they hadn't been there a moment before. 

"Yes. The energy absorber we built into the morpher, and the blast-proofing in your uniform. Even when you were forcibly demorphed, they deflected enough energy from that blaster shot to save your life." 

"I remember now. But..." 

"Yes. We only installed them as a result of Ransik's interference with history. Reversed cause and effect... In the original timeline, you must have died." 

"So..." I tried to comprehend that. "The timeline's already been changed? And -- Jen must think I'm dead." 

"I'm afraid so. In the reality Jen left from, you _were_ dead." 

"You mean I'm alive because of a time glitch?" 

"I guess that's as good a way to put it as any." She sighed. "Time travel is a new science. No one has changed history before. Nothing like this has ever happened before. There's so much we don't know." 

"Can we send someone after them?" 

"No. The timestream is too disrupted. Nothing could get through intact. I'm afraid they're on their own." 

I closed my eyes, the image of Jen rising before me, stranded in the past, those four people all alone in an unfamiliar time... "When are they? Where?" 

"Two hundred years ago. Right here in Silver City, as far as we can tell. It was still called Silver Hills then." 

"You don't know what Ransik's trying to do?" 

"All we know is that Time Force had its origins in Silver Hills. Ransik will presumably try to interfere with that. Our historical records are -- unreliable." For the first time, real fear showed on her face. "History -- reality -- everything could change around us." 

I felt the need to reassure her, although I felt far from confident myself. "If things are still changing -- doesn't that mean Ransik hasn't been able to finish what he went into the past to do?" 

She smiled again. "I think so. It means Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie are all right. They're fighting him. They still have a chance to stop him." 

I could feel my eyes getting heavy again. "Wish I was there... to help..." 

"They can do it. Everything will be all right." 

As I drifted back into sleep I thought I saw Jen bend over me and leave a light goodnight kiss on my forehead. But somehow she had curly reddish hair, light brown skin, and blue eyes -- just like Rachel. Vaguely, I realized the voice I had heard in my dreams, the face I had seen, probably the hand I had held, had been hers. 

* * *

The next days passed quickly. I slept most of the time. Several of my friends from Time Force came by. My parents had stayed in town until after I was out of danger, and they came back now to visit. I had never realized before how proud they were of me, but it showed. I had also never seen Logan as exactly the caring type, but he was there every day, bringing me up to date, just spending some time. Rachel came every day, too, trying to cheer me up and keep me amused. 

After several days of my demands, they let me watch the vid. I could see why they had been reluctant. The top story every day was the state of the timestream, whether history was about to change, whether we could expect to wake up tomorrow in our own reality or something else. The reports were reassuring, for the most part. I didn't believe them. 

I had reached the point of being able to get up and walk a few steps on my own before I pressed Logan about it. He was there on one of his daily visits when I confronted him. 

"Just how bad is it, Logan? And tell me the truth this time." 

Apparently he decided I was ready to hear it, or at least part of it. "It's bad. The disruption is getting steadily worse." He considered me for a moment before going on. "We're having you transferred to the Time Force infirmary as soon as possible, tomorrow if the doctors think you're ready." 

"Why? What's really going on? You're expecting a shift of reality, aren't you?" 

"We don't know, Alex." 

"What about Jen and the others?" 

"We've seen some indications of Ranger activity in the past, but we just can't be sure." 

"Did Ransik take Conwing, Steelix, and Brickneck with him?" 

"I'm afraid so. Also Nadira and Frax." 

"Jen and her team -- up against all of them -- isn't there anything we can do?" 

He sighed. "We have a plan. It's desperate, but we'll try anything at this point. We're going to send the Quantum morpher and the Q-Rex back." 

"The Quantum morpher. But it's still experimental." 

"Yes, but we've done a lot of work with it while you've been here. It's ready for use. So is the Q-Rex." 

I was quiet and thought about it for a few moments. The Quantum morpher was the next generation of Ranger morphers, more powerful than mine had been. It could control the Q-Rex -- the Quantum Battlewagon, nicknamed the Quantasaurus Rex, an armored tank capable of both flying and walking. It was one of our most powerful weapons. The fact that Time Force command was willing to send it back to the past, with all the resulting risk of damage to history, told me just how bad things were. 

"Who's going to use them?" I asked. 

Logan looked even more unhappy. "At this point, we can't send a person through. We're sending the morpher, inside a protective casing, and the Q-Rex, and we'll broadcast a message for our team. If they pick it up, and if they can find the morpher, it could help them. Or if the timestream clears, we can send someone back to use them." 

"That's a lot of ifs." 

He sighed. "I know." 

"What if someone else finds that morpher, and uses it?" 

"Then we're screwed." 

The next day they moved me to the Time Force infirmary. 

* * *

My recovery continued for another month, too slowly for my taste, especially since I had some idea of the seriousness of our situation. Somehow my own helplessness made it worse, as I spent long hours lying in bed, waiting, worrying. Logan continued to visit, and Rachel. When I questioned them, all they would tell me was that everything was 'under control', giving the lie to their own words with the expressions on their faces. Time crawled, and my dreams were filled with images of Jen, lost somewhere in the past, struggling against a Ransik who seemed even more monstrous than he was in fact. 

Rachel was waiting to escort me home on the day I was finally released from the infirmary, and allowed to return to my own apartment. I might have told her I didn't need help, but to tell the truth I was glad of her company. I also had some questions for her. 

We walked outside, and everything left my mind for the moment except the sheer pleasure of being outdoors again, in the open air, under the sky and in the sunlight. I turned my face up and stood for a moment, eyes closed, then looked around at the trees, branches bending slightly in a gentle breeze, and back up at the few white clouds drifting in that blue sky. 

"Wow. I missed this," I said. 

Rachel was watching me, an amused smile on her face. "I can see that." 

"Come on, let's go through the park." 

"Sure. I could use the walk." 

We strolled slowly and silently for several minutes, not speaking again until we reached the small park between the Time Force main residence buildings. I found a bench among the trees and we sat. I was tired already, still feeling the effects of my injury and the long weeks of enforced idleness. 

"Rachel. Tell me." 

She must have been expecting it; she smiled slightly. "Things aren't good. But you knew that." 

"What's going on?" 

"We don't know. The timestream is in violent flux. We've been shielded since the day you were moved into the infirmary." 

"But that's -- what? -- over a month now!" 

"Yes. The disruption is growing. The shields will fail soon." She looked at me, her composure faltering for the first time. "The world as we know it is coming to an end." 

"God." I said it softly, with all the fear I felt in that one word. 

"You wanted the truth." 

"Yes… Is there any hope?" 

Her chin came up. "There's always hope, Alex. Always. We have four top officers in place, in the past. I'm sure they're doing their best." 

"But…" I trailed off. What if their best wasn't good enough? What if -- what if they were hurt -- what if they were dead? I shook my head, unwilling to consider even the possibility that Jen was gone forever. "Is Logan planning anything?" 

"We've done all we can. He's going to send a recorded transmission into the timestream, telling them the situation here, and about the Quantum weapons." She smiled again, resting a gentle hand on my arm. "We have to put our trust in them. Hope they can still win out." 

* * *

Only days later I watched Logan's face as he waited for the Chrono-communicator to be ready. His expression was grim. So was mine, and Rachel's, and that of everyone in Logan's office. We were all condemned men and women. 

The condition of the timestream had worsened again. Our shields were expected to fail in a matter of hours, at which time we would be absorbed into the changed reality surrounding us. We had seen enough of it to terrify us, to make each of us hope that we would be lucky enough to be already dead in that new world. 

We had sent the Q-Rex and the Quantum morpher for Jen and her team to use, but the effort had gone disastrously wrong. Because of the disruption of the timestream, they had both gone astray, the Q-Rex landing approximately sixty-five million years ago. The morpher was only off by a few weeks, but we could not give them a physical location. If they could find it, it might help. If they were alive. If it wasn't too late. If Ransik hadn't already changed history irreparably. If, if, if... 

The technician nodded. Logan blinked, sat up straight, and began to speak into the communicator. 

"Jen, Lucas, Katie, Trip. We can only hope you arrived safely in the past, since we haven't been able to contact you. We are transmitting this message in the hope you will pick it up." 

The message would be broadcast into the timestream as a recording. It would echo there for a while, giving them a window of time to pick it up. 

"The timestream has shifted as a result of changes Ransik has made in the past. We've shielded ourselves from the shift as much as possible, but we can't protect ourselves much longer. Soon we will be absorbed into the new reality. When that happens you four will be the only ones who remember the original timeline. 

"Whatever Ransik has done -- or will do in your timeframe -- has affected the formation of Time Force. As you know we have suppressed the records of our own origin in order to prevent exactly this kind of attack. Even we don't know much about how Time Force was formed, and now we can't access our sealed records. Apparently Ransik found out enough to accomplish it. All I can tell you is that the time and place where you are now -- Silver Hills, California, year 2001 -- is crucial to our origin. 

"Soon, our shielding will fail, and Time Force will cease to exist. In the new reality, without us, several countries produced large numbers of mutant soldiers. Wars were fought with them. The destruction was terrible. Then the mutants decided to turn on their real enemies, the ones who created them and used them as weapons. There is now a war going on between humans and mutants. Biological weapons have been used. Hundreds of millions of people on both sides are dead, more are dying, and there's no end in sight. 

"You must stop Ransik at all costs. Find out what he's doing, and prevent or reverse it." 

He went on to summarize the situation with the Quantum equipment, his voice betraying the hopelessness we all felt. Then the time was up. Logan finished his message. 

"We will not be able to contact you again. Soon we will no longer exist. Good luck. Save us if you can. Everything depends on you." He was silent for a moment, staring stonily into the communicator before ending very softly, "Logan out." 

* * *

Rachel and I left together, walking through the park again, both of us looking around at the beauty surrounding us, taking deep breaths of the cool air, drinking it in with a sort of desperation. Surrounded by trees, I stopped. A sense of unreality came over me, I seemed raw, naked, terribly exposed and connected to everything around me, to all the things that might be gone forever soon. As a sudden chill breeze gusted, I could almost believe it was blowing away the very fabric of reality around us. 

"This world is so beautiful… I don't want it to end…" I said softly. Without thinking, I held out my hand. Rachel took it. 

"Alex..." Her face was troubled, her eyes intent. Her hand closed tightly on mine. 

"Yes." 

"In a few hours we'll be gone, our world will be gone." She took a breath, perhaps for courage. "I'm afraid. I want to stay with you. I want us to be together tonight." Her voice was low but clear and firm, no hesitation, no shyness. There was no time. 

Our eyes locked, we stared into each other's faces for a few heartbeats as those words hung in the air between us. Somehow I wasn't surprised. And I wasn't displeased. 

"Rachel…" 

"I know. You love Jen, and you always will. That's all right. I don't expect you to love me. But -- I don't want to be alone -- not now. I want to be with you." 

"Rachel…" I almost whispered it, this time. We moved closer together. The image of Jen came into my mind, but it didn't matter, not now. What did anything matter, except taking and giving whatever comfort we could to each other? 

We came together, the breeze soft around us, the branches sighing gently, the patterns of light and shadow drifting over us as the warm sun filtered through the trees. A moment in time, perfect, all the more beautiful because of its impermanence, as my arms closed around her, and hers around me. Her eyes seemed endlessly deep, glints of fear in them, and something more. Her lips were soft as we kissed, her breath warm on my face as I held her close. 

We didn't need any more words. I took her hand again, and we turned our steps toward my apartment, to spend our last hours together. 

And that night, the world ended... 

* * *

TBC... 


	4. A Different Life

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Based (loosely) on the Time Force 'Destiny' episodes. Shares plot and some dialogue with my story 'A Year of Time'. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

A Different Life

* * *

Too many people gone, too many empty rooms. I stood, alone, at the window, looking out over the city. My city, Silver City. How many empty rooms out there? How many empty hearts? 

My name is Alex. Alex Drake. I'm a captain in Time Force. We're nominally a law enforcement agency, but in the last years we've become more of a branch of the military. Once, our primary mission was to enforce the temporal laws, to prevent damage to the timestream. Or rather, further damage. Quickly, most of our efforts began to be devoted to controlling the mutant problem. For the last decades, we've been heavily involved in the war. 

Since we developed instruments capable of detecting such things, we've known we're a alternate timeline. We branched off in 2001, due to the interference of Ransik, a mutant from our own time, who traveled into the past, apparently with the purpose of changing history to prevent our existence. If only he knew what a mistake he made. 

In the first alternate timeline, he succeeded, and Time Force was never created. As a result, by our time most of the world's population had died in a devastating war between humans and mutants. Fortunately for everyone, that God-forsaken reality was wiped out by a team of Time Force officers who had gone back to 2001 from the original timeline to stop him. But they were only partially successful. 

They couldn't completely reverse the damage Ransik had caused. Things did not go back to the original. Instead, the world I live in came into being. The same war happened, but in my timeline, it went against the mutants. Huge numbers of them have died. More have been confined in camps and compounds. Perhaps I might feel sorry for them, if our own casualties hadn't been so heavy. If they hadn't taken Jen from me. 

But now all that would change. Because of me, because I couldn't face the idea of letting Jen die again. I took my last look at the city before turning back into the dark of my room, and remembering how it had happened... 

* * *

It had really started with Jen, with the first time I saw her. I had joined Time Force right out of school, all fired up with ideas of single-handedly defeating hordes of mutants. That was before I discovered the reality; the ugliness that was war, the hatred, the pain, the cruelty on both sides. 

Jen was a few years younger, and I was already an officer when she joined as a cadet. I was assigned to instruct a class in sharpshooting, and she was one of my students. Out of all those eager young faces, I noticed hers, bent over her rifle with such determination, then lighting up in a big warm smile when I praised her marksmanship. 

Over the next months, I tried to help her when I could, just encouragement, mostly. She was talented and hardworking, and Time Force always needs good people. In no time she joined me as a full officer. The day she got her badge, and we were equals, was the day I told her I loved her. And the moment she said she felt the same way, and kissed me... I wish it could have lasted forever. 

We had a year together, a year of growing closer, of starting to make plans, of getting used to thinking in terms of 'us' instead of 'you' and 'me'. Then we were assigned to bring Ransik in. 

Ransik, leader of a mutant faction that was particularly vicious and well-organized. He was just one of many leaders, and his group was one of many semi-military, semi-terrorist organizations. His was just a little more successful at what they did, which was to kill as many humans as they could, and create as much fear and despair as they could. Time Force command wanted him eliminated, by any means necessary. 

We cornered him, with a few of his followers, at a Time Force research facility outside of HQ. They were working on portable timehole generators there, time travel devices small enough for a person to carry. The danger was obvious; Ransik would be able to hide the generator, take it wherever he wanted, use it whenever he wanted. He and his followers would be able to escape from us through time, and more important, he'd be able to go back in time and interfere with history. 

I had three squads of officers, a dozen each, under my command that night. I left two squads outside the building, surrounding it, while Jen and I led the others inside. We were all armed with high-powered blast rifles and smaller sidearms. We had no illusions, we knew how dangerous these mutants were, and didn't expect them to come peacefully. And if anyone died for their cause that day, we didn't intend it to be one of us. 

We found them on the second floor, Ransik and two of his mutants, a tall white-skinned man and a man with silver-gray skin. I knew them, Conwing and Steelix, two of his top lieutenants. An opportunity to get them all, cripple their organization. 

I had to give them the chance to surrender. We worked our way in, moving into the room one by one, taking cover behind the boxes and cartons scattered around the floor. When all of us were in place, ready to fire, I walked out where they could see me. My badge was already in my hand. 

"Time Force," I said, steadily enough, in spite of the danger I knew I was in. "You're all under arrest." 

They all stared at me, then exchanged a glance. "You'll never take us alive," Ransik replied. 

I smiled. "Your choice." 

With mutant speed, he drew his blaster and fired. I hit the floor, returning fire at the same time. The room erupted in energy beams. I know I hit Ransik, so did several of my officers. The mutants really never had a chance. 

* * *

I don't enjoy killing anyone. Sometimes I wish we had advanced farther with the Ranger program, used it the way they did in the original reality. I could have captured Ransik instead of killing him. But in our world, we can't afford to be so reluctant to kill, and our technology has concentrated on offensive firepower, rather than more defensive systems like Ranger suits. 

So Jen and I weren't exactly pleased that Ransik, Conwing, and Steelix were dead, but we knew we had done our jobs. After our debriefing the next day, we went out to dinner. Then we took a walk, in the small park between the Time Force residence halls where we lived. There's a view from a corner of that park, where you can look out over Silver City. We stood there for a time, arms around each other, kissing a few times, before I got around to saying what I intended to say. 

"With Ransik taken care of, we can take some time off." 

She laughed a little, her eyes bright in the moonlight. "That would be nice. Actually spend a little time alone together." 

"I had something a little more permanent in mind..." I already had the small box in my hand. I opened it, showed her the ring. She didn't say anything, just looked at it, then up at my face. 

"Jennifer, will you marry me?" 

"Alex..." She threw her arms around my neck. 

"Hold on. Does that mean yes?" 

She only nodded, and kissed me. I took a moment to slip the ring on her finger before I kissed her back. 

"From now on, it's you and me," I said. 

"Forever." 

Forever. That's how I remember her, in the moonlight, the sparkling lights of Silver City spread behind her, her eyes glowing just as brightly. It happened as we were walking back to her building, too absorbed with each other to notice that there was someone else in that park, someone with a high-powered blaster. Probably he meant to hit me, but he got Jen instead. Like a good soldier, I left her on the ground and went after him, calling for backup at the same time. We got him. He was one of Ransik's followers, out for revenge. Jen was rushed to the infirmary. She died two days later without regaining consciousness. 

* * *

We know about the original timeline, we know a lot. Our technology in temporal mechanics is at least as good as theirs. When a timeline has existed, it leaves traces behind, echoes of its subspace communications mostly. We've picked up plenty of information. Three months after Jen's death, we learned that the original reality's version of Ransik had escaped to the past, to 2001. That Jen and her team of Rangers had pursued him. That Jen -- another version of Jen -- was alive in the past. 

As I said before, when Ransik arrived in 2001, he set events in motion that prevented the creation of Time Force, that wiped out the original timeline. What he didn't foresee was that in the new reality, instead of mutants gaining power over humans, there were a series of wars even worse than ours, in which most of the Earth's population was killed. 

Then two things happened to prevent some of the damage Ransik caused. Jen and the Rangers saved Eric Myers' life, and he came into possession of the Quantum morpher. That didn't bring back the original timeline, but it created ours. 

Now we had discovered how fragile our timeline, our world, still was. History in 2001 had reached a critical period. We had to ensure that events went the way they were supposed to. And I decided to do the job myself. 

* * *

I was high in Time Force command, partially due to ability, partly because there had been so many deaths that there was a shortage of high-ranking officers. When I had announced my intention of taking on the mission to 2001 myself, no one had argued. 

Only Rachel was there to see me off. We stood in the timeship landing field, just outside the main hanger, watching as a team of technicians gave my ship a last check. I looked at her as she watched them. Sometimes I had thought there might have been something between us, if I hadn't met Jen first. And now -- now Jen was gone, but I had no interest in other women. Something more that the mutants, and the war, and all the horror I had seen, had taken from me. 

"Alex. Are you sure about this?" 

Rachel's question brought me back to the present. "Of course I'm sure. This is a critical time in 2001. I'm going to make sure things turn out the way they should." 

"Jen has something to do with it, doesn't she?" 

"I..." I opened my mouth to deny it, but the words wouldn't come. Jen had a great deal to do with it. Ever since we had found out that a version of Jen from an alternate reality was alive in 2001... 

"You want to see her again." 

"I know she's not the same Jen." 

"You know that. But do you believe it? Deep down?" 

"I believe it. I have no choice." 

She looked at me skeptically. I glanced away uncomfortably. "How do you feel about going up against Ransik again?" she asked after a few moments. 

"I thought you were a biophysicist, not a psychiatrist." But I smiled and shrugged. "Why should I feel differently about him than any other mutant?" 

Her eyes dropped away from mine. "It was his followers who killed Jen, in revenge for his death." 

"Maybe. But this isn't the same Ransik." 

"Still..." 

"Besides, our immediate problem at this time is Frax." 

She looked me over again, as if wanting to pursue it. But all she said was, "Looks like your ship's ready." 

"Right. Goodbye, Rachel. Wish me luck." 

"Of course. Good luck to all of you." She shook my hand, pressing it for a moment longer than necessary. I carried the image of her smile with me as I started my journey. 

* * *

I landed in the same place Jen and her team had. Or rather, where they had crashed. Bits of debris were still scattered over the beach. It was a beautiful day, but I had no time or inclination for more than a glance over the ocean and a few deep breaths of fresh air. In minutes I was on my vectorcycle, speeding into town. Silver Hills. The same city, but two hundred years makes a difference. I had memorized a contemporary map and had no trouble finding the place I was looking for. 

Bio-Lab. Seeing it impressed me. So many important events had occurred there, so many of the people I admired had walked those halls. Eric Myers. Alan Collins and Wes Collins, presumably my relatives. The people who had made Time Force what it is, who had shaped our world. 

As I had expected, I saw the signs of the attack that had just taken place. Police vehicles and fire engines were clustered in front of the main building. Wrecked cyclobots were strewn over the parking lot. Uniformed Silver Guardians ran back and forth. I strained my eyes, trying to spot a red beret, wondering if I'd catch a glimpse of Eric, but there was no sign of him. But _they_ were there, on their vectorcycles, parked on the main street in view of the building. 

I rode closer, seeing them stop their conversation and stare at me. The Rangers. The suits were impressive, and again I wished we had developed that technology to the point of usefulness. If I hadn't been forced to kill Ransik... I was confronted by five Rangers, their faces hidden by their helmets. But I knew exactly who they were. 

Lucas was in blue. In our world, I had never known him, he had died years ago. Trip and Katie were in green and yellow. They were mutants. I didn't know what had happened to their equivalents in our world. Probably dead. Wes Collins, in red, with the morpher meant for me, or my counterpart. But the only one I really saw -- Jen, in pink. Getting off her vectorcycle, taking a few steps toward me. 

She raised her arm and demorphed. And there she was, just as I remembered her, brown hair, warm brown eyes, that face I had thought I'd never see again, now stricken with shock. I stopped and dismounted. 

"Alex?" Her voice was shaking. She suddenly ran forward and threw herself into my arms. I felt only a sort of numbness, as I tried to remember she wasn't the same Jen, not _my_ Jen. 

Then they were all around me, demorphed, patting me on the back, saying how glad they were to see me. None of it was really meant for me, of course, it was for the Alex they had known. I took Jen's shoulders and moved her back, and prepared to say what I had come to say. 

But it didn't come out that way. I had intended to warn them, to give them some advice, help them with strategy, to offer some backup if they needed it. One look, one hug, from Jen had changed all that. You see, I knew from our historical records what was coming for them, only a few months in their future. After that, Jen would be gone again. Suddenly I couldn't face that, I had to do something to change it, even if it went against everything I was sworn to as a Time Force officer. 

My eyes landed on Wes, and my resolve hardened. The way he was looking at Jen... the same way I wanted to look at her. Jealousy fizzed through my veins. And it hit me, how I could get rid of him, and stay with Jen, try to save her, maybe without changing history -- at least without changing it very much. I didn't even need to feel guilty about Wes. He should thank me. 

I greeted them, my voice as steady as I could make it. "Hello, Jennifer. Lucas, Trip, Katie. And you must be Wes." There was no mistaking him, his resemblance to me was uncanny. 

"How is this possible? How did you survive Ransik's attack? We were sure you were… gone," Jen asked, voice trembling. There were tears in her eyes. 

"History has changed, remember. Our time as you experienced it no longer exists. If you say I died -- your version of me must have died. In the new reality, I didn't." 

"Have we succeeded? Does Time Force exist again? It must, you're wearing the uniform," Lucas said. 

"Yes, your mission has succeeded, for now. But the timestream is still very unstable. It could revert easily, if the next few days don't go the way they should. That's why I'm here. We'll go to your headquarters, and I'll tell you all about it." 

I stopped Wes as he turned to go back to his vectorcycle. "Not you, Wes." 

"What do you mean?" He didn't like me, I could tell. 

"You belong to this time. I can't allow you to hear some of the things I need to discuss with my team. And… there's another reason." I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts. "I know this will be a shock for you. I'm taking over as Red Ranger." 

"What? Why? Wes is a great Red Ranger. Why change the team?" Trip asked indignantly. 

"Wes, your place is at Bio-Lab. You must help get it through the problems it will face soon." 

He smiled disbelievingly. "Maybe that _was_ my place, but I've made my own life now. And Bio-Lab isn't part of it." 

I went on. This part was true, and it fit with the plan emerging in my mind. "You must fulfill your destiny and take over Bio-Lab now because -- tomorrow your father will die." 

He stared, and then smiled. "That's crazy. I saw my dad last night. He was fine." 

"He may have been fine last night, but…." 

His morpher signaled. With an uncertain look at me, Wes raised it and answered. 

_"Wes? It's Eric."_

"Eric. I hear you." 

_"Bio-Lab was attacked today. Your father was injured. I'm sorry, but you should get to Silver Hills Hospital as soon as you can. It looks… real bad."_

"Oh, God..." He raised his eyes to me, face shocked and dazed. 

"I'm sorry," I said. And meant it. Judging by his expression, he loved his father. He stared at me numbly. Then without another word, he took off the morpher, handed it to me, then went to his vectorcycle, got on it, and drove off. I had taken the first step. The Rangers were fated to die in a few months, and I would be with them. With Jen. 

* * *

"What's the matter with you?" 

I turned away from the view over Silver Hills from the window of the clock tower they were using as headquarters and living quarters. Jen was standing there, the sun glinting off her hair against the dark interior, now in her Time Force uniform again, instead of the contemporary clothing she had been wearing when I found them. I had felt the need both to assert my authority and to remind them of their duty, their professionalism, by ordering them to change clothes. Now I felt a little ashamed of my attitude. 

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"You seem so tense. And you don't seem too happy to see me again. And why didn't you contact us before, let me know you were alive?" 

"Jen -- reality has changed significantly. I'm not really the same Alex you knew. He's... just gone, forever. And you're not the same Jen I knew. It wouldn't have been appropriate for me to contact you before it became necessary. And now that I'm here, this mission is more important than our personal feelings or problems. I have to make sure we succeed. That includes getting you people into shape." 

She was quiet for a moment, biting her lip in the way I remembered. Whatever she may have felt about the fact that I wasn't really the Alex she had known, she didn't say. "It's not like we've been playing around here. We've been working hard." 

I had been checking out their equipment, and had found some pictures they had taken of each other. The one I was holding now showed Wes kissing Jen. Bright, hot jealousy ran though me again. "Right. It looks like you've been working really hard." Not fair, not reasonable, I knew. When she didn't answer, I changed the subject. 

"How did your version of me die?" 

"He tried to stop Ransik from coming back to this time. He died bravely. Trying to do what he became a Ranger to do." 

"I hope I have as much courage as he did." I looked away from her. I would need courage. 

"Are there two of me now? Is 'your' Jen waiting in our time?" 

"No. For years we've been fighting a war with the mutants. Many good people died. She was one of them." I turned to look at her, gazing up at me, her face open and sympathetic. I reached to brush her cheek with my fingertips. "So you see, both of us are… touching a ghost." 

Jen stared at me, eyes wide. "I'm sorry," she murmured. 

I would have liked to say more, but the others came in then. I reminded myself of what I had to do. I was walking a fine line now, trying to preserve history, while finding a way to stay with the woman I loved, whether that meant saving her or only dying with her. 

* * *

TBC... 


	5. A Different Destiny

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Loosely based on _Destiny_ and _End of Time_ episodes. Shares plot and some dialoque with my story 'A Year of Time'. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

A Different Destiny

* * *

We wheeled in the sky above the city on our Timeflyers, the enemy in our sights. It was a flying robotized warship, rather dramatically decorated to look like a dragon. Frax's robot, his doomsday weapon. We seemed like only gnats, not strong enough to do more than annoy it, even with the Ranger weapons. 

This was our second encounter with it. The first had been yesterday, and it had gone as history described, except with me as the Red Ranger instead of Wes. He had been at Silver Hills hospital, watching over his father, who was destined to die today. Wes would then take over Bio-Lab, while I would continue as a Ranger. He might even survive the coming cataclysm. 

Yesterday I had briefed the team after my conversation with Jen. And then it had been time. The Dragon had attacked, flying above Bio-Lab, blasting a complex of storage facilities. We had flown in, I had taken command, we had approached in attack formation -- and the others had rebelled, broken off before we could engage. They said my strategy -- a direct confrontation -- would get them killed. 

None of them have been in a real combat situation before, none of them have been at war. They haven't seen the things I've seen, lost the things I've lost. Soldiers must obey, without question, or the enemy has already won. They don't understand. Luckily, the Quantasaurus Rex, with the Quantum Ranger, arrived in time to drive the Dragon off. 

I was furious. I admit I lost my temper with them, when we got back to their clock tower base. Someone had to wake them up, make them see how serious the situation was, make them realize the importance of obeying orders without hesitation. I could see how angry they were. They don't like me. That's all right. I don't need them to like me, as long as they follow me, as long as they obey. 

Now we faced the second battle, the one we had to win. My teammates still didn't trust my judgment, a possibly fatal problem. As we flew in, I decided to modify my strategy to one they could accept more easily, and, I had to admit, one that had a better chance of succeeding without getting any of us killed. We buzzed around the machine as it flew toward Bio-Lab and the city beyond, trying to slow and distract it, lead it over empty fields. One by one we flew close enough to fire on it, then fled when it turned to attack, with the others drawing fire away. 

It was a high-speed, dangerous, and terrifying battle. Our tactics worked for a time. We ran it in circles, forcing it to expend ammunition without doing much harm. But I knew sooner or later it would hit one of us. Our only real chance was for Eric and the Q-Rex to help, as history said they would. But something else went wrong first. 

Jen swooped low to fire on the Dragon from below. I was distracted, avoiding a series of blasts and trying to get in a few hits of my own. When I checked on her, to my alarm she was landing. From the way her flyer handled, I could see she had lost power. I knew casualties were possible -- but not Jen -- I flew low to see what had happened. The others followed. 

Foolish. As we dropped toward the ground, all of us lost power, just as Jen had. We were barely able to land. In moments we were all down, safely, out of our flyers and running to stand together. 

"What happened?" Jen asked. "I just lost power, for no reason." 

"The rest of us did too," Trip said. "Something's drained our energy. Check your morphers, they're low on energy too." 

It was true, we were all near the point of demorphing. I looked up at the Dragon, coming down at us. Above it, the Q-Rex finally appeared, coming in fast. The Dragon lifted up again to meet it. We were saved for the moment. But not safe. 

"Look," I said. A tall, golden robot was approaching us, pointing a large, strangely designed weapon at us, followed by several cyclobots. Frax, Ransik's robot ally, now turned against his master and acting on his own. 

"Fire!" I shouted. We all summoned our blasters and opened fire, with little effect. Something was still draining our energy. 

"Alex, wait! We don't know what's going on here," Jen cried. 

"Don't question me! Fire!" We tried again. No good. Frax aimed a blaster built into his arm and fired at us, knocking us down, leaving us seriously weakened. 

I dragged myself to my feet. "Get up!" I shouted at the others. They just stared at me, gasping for breath. I flashed into anger again; if I could fight through pain and seemingly hopeless odds, so could they. "Fight! What's wrong with you? Don't you care what happens if we lose?" Maybe fear and guilt at my own tampering with history made me overreact. 

That got Lucas on his feet, but to fight _me_, not the real enemy. He walked up to me and shouted, "I've had enough of you!" 

Katie was right behind him. "You're the one who doesn't care! If you did, you wouldn't have replaced Wes!" 

"The team is stronger this way!" 

Even Jen turned against me. "They're right. We don't know you. And you don't know us. We were stronger with Wes." 

While we were wasting time on useless argument, Frax moved closer, raising his energy-draining weapon. I shouted at the others again. Just as Frax was about to fire, a beam struck him from the side, sending him reeling to the ground, dropping his weapon. A moment later it burst into flaming wreckage. We turned to look. It was Wes, several meters away in front of a small group of buildings, his motorcycle behind him. He was holding a large blast rifle. He had left his father, to help his friends. Luckily for us, but at the moment I felt only anger for him. 

As Wes aimed at him, Frax cried, "You've destroyed my energy drainer, but your weapons are weakened. My machine will still defeat you!" In another moment he was gone in a sparkle of teleportation. 

We started back to our flyers, as I heard Jen call, "Alex, please..." She looked at me pleadingly. I knew what she wanted. I might have known it wouldn't work. There was no time to build trust with them, to make them see... and like it or not, they weren't soldiers. I couldn't depend on them to obey me. There was no choice. I had to give up, let Wes take his place with them, let history take its course. Slowly I raised my arm and demorphed, then removed the morpher and handed it to her. 

Taking it with a smile, she turned to Wes, who had stopped a few feet away. She tossed it to him. He caught it and paused long enough to give me a grateful nod. Seconds later I was watching all of them take to the sky to join the battle against the Dragon. 

* * *

There was no need for me to stay. Nothing I could do to help, at this point, and I knew they were destined to win this fight. I left, taking Wes's motorcycle. There was only one useful thing I could think of to do. 

In a very grim state of mind, I walked into Silver Hills hospital. The staff must have thought I was Wes, despite the uniform; no one attempted to stop me. I slipped into one of the intensive care rooms and stood for a moment looking down at the patient inside. 

Alan Collins, founder, owner, and CEO of Bio-Lab. I tried to find a resemblance to my own father. But Dad had died when I was a small child, in the war, of course. I knew him only from photographs. My mother was gone, too, I had no one who could even tell me about him. 

Suddenly I found myself wondering why I was trying so hard to preserve my world, the reality I knew. War, death, a world full of lost friends, lost parents, lost lovers. A world in which I had lost everyone I cared for. In which I was afraid to love again, afraid to risk more loss. The image of Rachel rose before me. 

I looked down again, at Alan Collins. At least I could prevent this death. He had created the Silver Guardians. In a hundred years, they had become Time Force. He was one of my personal heroes. Now I watched him fighting for his life. According to history, he would die within the hour, from the effects of a blaster shot. Another of Ransik's victims. But not if I could prevent it. 

I can't really explain why I did it. Partly for him... partly for Wes. He was also destined to die soon. I had tried to take his place, to spend a little time with Jen before we all died, perhaps to have a chance to save her... now that plan had failed. Wes would die as he was fated to die, sacrificing himself for the future of his world. Because of his heroism -- and Jen's, and the others' -- Bio-Lab and Eric would survive, and the Guardians would eventually become Time Force. If I could make his remaining months a little happier, I would. It shouldn't have any harmful effect. 

I set up the medical unit I had retrieved from my ship, and turned it on. Treatment was quick, and effective. He opened his eyes as I was packing the unit and getting ready to go. I left before he could react, before he realized I wasn't his son. 

* * *

We said goodbye on the beach, at my ship. Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie lined up, managing to look almost disciplined. I felt a sharp sense of regret, now that it was over. I could admit I had made a mistake with them. They weren't soldiers, but they were something just as valuable. When it really counted, they had all performed with courage and intelligence. And I knew they would do it again, in their final battle. 

As I was walking up to them, we heard the sound of a car. It pulled over and parked at the edge of the beach. Two people got out, Wes, and Eric. They said something to each other, and then Wes came running over to me. 

"It was you at the hospital, wasn't it? _You_ saved my father," he asked breathlessly. 

I nodded. "I brought medical equipment with me that's more advanced than what your friends have." 

"Now, wasn't that playing with destiny?" he asked with a smile. 

"We each make our own destiny. You showed me that. You've chosen your fate. I thought saving your father was… the least I could do." 

Whatever he made of that, all he did was smile again. "Whatever the reason, thanks." 

"Goodbye, Wes. Good luck." 

I couldn't resist the opportunity. I walked over to Eric. Another of my heroes. He stood there, dark and harsh-faced, staring at me with curiosity and instinctive wariness struggling in his face. I remembered that my resemblance to Wes must be startling for him. "Eric Myers?" I asked. 

"Yeah?" 

"It's an honor to meet you." 

"Why? And who are you?" 

"Wes can explain." Enough. It was time to go. I went to the line of my former teammates. 

"Sorry I was hard on you. You don't operate the way I'm used to, but I see now that you're excellent Rangers." We shook hands, we smiled. Jen was standing at the end of the line. I faced her, finally, and said, "I don't know what to say." 

"Don't say anything," she replied. "I know you were trying to do the right thing." We hugged, too briefly. I almost couldn't bear to let her go. 

"When you come home -- we can talk." She said nothing. I went into the ship. She would never come home, if history went the way it was supposed to. But I was already thinking of a way to change it. 

* * *

I tried. I thought it through over the next three months, back home in 2200, back in those dismal hallways and empty rooms. Back home without Jen. I knew what would happen. Frax would rebuild his robot warship, and attack again, this time under Ransik's control. This time, things would go differently. Our team, Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie, along with Wes, would die in a conflagration that would take a large part of the city with them. They would be killed, but they would accomplish their mission, Frax's machine would be destroyed, and Ransik, Frax, and Nadira would also die. 

Eric would survive to rebuild the Silver Guardians. By all accounts, the loss of his new friend Wes, and of his Ranger teammates, and the carnage he saw in that struggle changed him, made him harder and colder, and gave him an obsessive hatred of mutants. He had the strength to do what he felt he must, but little kindness. Under his control, the Guardians would go on to become a leading force years later in the campaign against mutants. And in a hundred years, the Time Force I knew would be born. It would lack the compassion it had had in the original version of reality; it would do nothing to temper the hostility between humans and mutants. But it would prevent the total destruction in the previous alternate timeline. 

The timestream would take its course, but I was unwilling to let Jen pay the price. There was a way. It meant disrupting history. But I was beyond caring. I would give them a chance. Bring them home, before the fight, before they were supposed to die. 

I contacted them in secret, alone in my office. Told them what was going to happen. Saw the pain and fear in their faces when I told them they would all be killed in the upcoming battle, unless they did what I said. Told them they could escape, use the timeship I was sending for them. Told them Wes would have to stay behind, to give up his life for the future of his world. All I could do was wait, and hope they would do what I wanted. 

As I found out later, they didn't, they wanted to stay, and face the final struggle with their friend. But Wes decided for them, somehow tricked them into the ship, and activated the autopilot. It brought them back, brought Jen back to me. I was there when they arrived; I walked to the door of the time travel recovery room, hesitating, wondering how much of the truth to tell them, wondering -- too late -- what they would think of this reality, if they would think it was worth the sacrifice of Wes's life. 

The door opened, and there they were. There _she_ was, tears on her face, staring at me in shock and hostility. Blaming me for the loss of her friend and teammate, instead of being grateful to me for saving her. All of them crowded around me, upset and agitated. 

"What happened in 2001?" she cried. "What happened to Wes?" 

"I'm sorry, Jen. All of you. Wes didn't make it. But he's remembered as a hero." 

"No!" The anguish and rage in her face was painful to see. "We should have been there to help him!" She shrank away from me. 

"Jen. All of that happened a long time ago. Wes is a part of history now. You'll have to forget him." 

"How can I forget? We were a team for a year. We couldn't have done anything without him. And now he died… to save us. It isn't fair! How can you be so cold-blooded about it?" 

"I would have taken his place, if you had let me. I tried. But Wes chose his own destiny, just as he said." 

She stiffened. "You knew about this all along." 

"Yes. I tried to change it. But it was Wes's fate to die the way he did." 

"No! We have to go back and help him." 

"You can't. Please, try to accept it. There's nothing more you can do." 

It took a little time, but I got them calmed down. That lasted until I reluctantly confronted the issue of Trip and Katie. 

"The two of you will have to be sent to an appropriate facility," I told them. "Your permanent disposition will be decided in a few weeks." 

"What do you mean, an 'appropriate facility'?" Katie demanded. 

"You have both been classified as mutants. I'm sorry, and I'm sure your service on this mission will be taken into consideration. You'll probably be able to choose which relocation center you're sent to. But you must be removed from human society, for your own protection." 

"This is… unbelievable!" Lucas shouted. "What kind of a world _is_ this?" 

"I'm starting to think it's not the kind of world I want to live in," Jen said. 

"Whether you like it or not, this is reality now. You'll have to live in it, and make the best of it." I was abrupt with them. I had saved their lives at considerable risk, and they hated me for it. 

* * *

I gambled with fate, and lost. By removing the Ranger team from 2001 before their last battle, I changed history. Wes died, as I had expected. But without the rest of them to help him, Eric failed to stop the attack, and lost his own life. I had made a terrible mistake, and had only my own weakness to blame. 

Rachel explained it to them the next morning, as soon as we were sure. "According to our analysis, without your presence in 2001, Ransik's final attacks were successful enough to cripple Bio-Lab. Eric Myers died, and without him, the Silver Guardians did not survive. No Silver Guardians, no Time Force." 

"When I found out about your existence in 2001, it seemed like a second chance," I told Jen. "I did it because I didn't want to lose you again. So I tried to change history, to save you. Now -- we may lose everything because of my weakness. I'm sorry." 

"Don't be sorry, Alex." Her eyes fixed on my face. "When you came back to 2001 -- were you really going to take Wes's place? And die instead of him?" 

"Yes. Maybe I could have found a way to save all of us. And I would have been with you." 

Jen's face was unreadable. "What can we do now, to fix it?" 

"We have to send you back again. There's still a chance you can change it. But you have to go now, before the timestream becomes impossible to travel through. We know we're asking you to risk your lives again, but there's no other way." 

They all smiled. "We're ready," Jen said simply. 

"Good. We're getting a new ship ready for you. It's a fighter as well as a timeship. And we're loading it with the best weaponry and medical equipment we can get together. It should give you a very good chance of getting through this." I looked each of them in the face. "Let's go." 

* * *

After they were gone, Rachel and I stood on the timeship landing field, looking up into the sky, watching the timehole close after them. I sighed. 

"According to our projections, they will survive this time, and save both Wes and Eric, thanks to our ship and weapons," Rachel said softly. 

"Yes. History will change again." 

"Wes's death was the difference between our timeline and the original version. Now, we'll revert to the original, or something very close. Our world, as we know it, will be gone." 

"Look at this world. This reality. The war, the suffering. Are you sorry to see it end? When there's something better that could exist in its place?" 

"Maybe not. But... our lives, our memories, the things that make us ourselves, will all be gone. Aren't you afraid?" 

I looked back into the sky. A wind was coming, a wind to blow away this miserable world, this pit of war, loss, and hatred. "No, I'm not," I said, and turned to go back home, to spend my last hours alone. Soon this whole timeline, this reality, would be no more than a fading dream. I welcomed it, even if it meant I would be gone, too. 

And that night, the world ended... 

* * *

TBC... 


	6. Return of Reality

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Return of Reality

* * *

I woke abruptly, with a jolt, feeling as if the world had snapped back into place. I was in the same apartment I had lived in for years. Nothing was different, but something seemed strange, as if everything had changed. Another life, another set of memories seemed to flit around the edges of my mind. 

"Rachel..." Memory returned. I pressed my face into my hands. What had I done? How had it happened? 

I remembered all of it, then, as I looked around with that haunting sense of unreality. Rachel had been here when I fell asleep. We had expected reality to change. It had, I was sure of it, yet here I was. We had expected never to wake up, but we had… I held a hand to my head, my mind whirling. 

She had been here, with me. I could remember us making love, but now she was gone... There was something else, too, a darker memory, or a dream, of death and destruction, of me doing things I knew I had never done, of being someone I knew I would never be. It faded before I was fully awake, and was gone. 

An hour later, I was in Time Force headquarters. My first instinct had been to find Rachel, and I had tracked her down to a meeting with Logan and a few of the temporal scientists. Now we were all listening to Dagmar, a tall blonde woman, the most brilliant of our experts on temporal mechanics. 

"Reality has been altered again," she said cheerfully. "As far as I can tell, we're in a retroactive continuity." She beamed at us happily. 

"And that means…" Logan prompted. 

"It means another radical change has been made in history, in 2001, after our corresponding time. The change has propagated down the timeline, and the reality we're in now is the result, replacing a previously altered state." Her eyes sparkled with scientific enthusiasm. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. It's amazing. The instrument readings are fascinating. We're picking up signs of another alternate reality that left a residual impact on our timeline..." 

"Could you explain that for us in terms of one syllable?" Logan asked, his voice slightly amused. 

Rachel took over. "When we travel or communicate through time, we can only move in fixed jumps, like a hundred ninety-nine years, to go back to 2001. This means there is always a moment in time in 2001 that corresponds with each moment in our time. We can only interact directly with our corresponding time in the past. 

"At the same time -- so to speak -- our history is influenced by everything in the past. What's happened now is that a change was made in 2001 at some point, and our reality was wiped out. Then another change was made, after our corresponding time, to set things back, probably because of our own actions. Our reality has been restored, but not perfectly. That's why there are some inconsistencies, like Alex's survival." 

I was still trying to figure that one out when Logan spoke up. "When we realized history had been changed, we sent the Quantum morpher and the Q-Rex back. Do you think that's what changed things back?" 

"It's certainly possible," Rachel answered. "Maybe our officers in 2001 found the morpher, and it was enough to help them stop Ransik." 

Dagmar cut in enthusiastically. "And then -- when reality shifted back, the reality in which we knew our reality was going to be wiped out wasn't erased since if it was, we would never have sent the morpher back, and then they wouldn't have been able to stop Ransik." 

"Exactly." 

"That's probably also why Alex can remember the timeline in which he died. If he hadn't been dead, Jen wouldn't have gone back to 2001 to stop Ransik, so that timeline retains some reality. Now, it looks like still another timeline caused a change that restored ours." 

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting a headache," Logan muttered. 

Dagmar gave him a disgusted look. "It's perfectly simple," she said. "We're in a pocket of reality that was created when a change was made as a result of one branch of reality which is now no longer valid. It retains only a pseudo-existence because of its effect on the actuating event that brought our timeline back, therefore the causative probabilities overlap." 

"Never mind. Please. The question now is, are we safe? Is this reality permanent?" 

"No reality is permanent. Timestream fluctuation is a quantum phenomenon, events in the past which occur as a result of our actions or even actions originating in another branch of the timeline but influencing our common past…" 

"Dagmar, can't you talk like a human being?" 

"She means we don't know. Things could still change, something we do could alter history again. Possibly someone from an alternate reality could still travel to 2001 and alter history," Rachel said. 

"I believe that's what I said," Dagmar said haughtily. 

"Right." Logan suppressed a smile. 

I interrupted. "What about Jen and the others?" I asked. "Have you contacted them yet? Are they all right? Can they come back now?" 

The expression on Logan's face warned me I wouldn't like the answer. "We haven't been able to communicate with them yet," he said. "But we'll keep trying." He frowned. "The time stream is starting to settle down, but it's still too disrupted for them to communicate, or for us to go after them." 

"But they stopped Ransik…" 

"Maybe. For now. We don't know exactly what happened." 

"Reality may change again," Rachel said gently. "We just don't know." 

"Well -- what can we do?" 

"Nothing." The tone of Logan's voice told me he was as frustrated as I was. 

"No -- there must be something…" 

"Alex, the fact that we're here indicates that they're alive, and doing their job," Logan said. "We just have to trust that they'll win out." 

"Can't we send back more help? Make more morphers, more automated weapons like the Q-Rex?" 

"No. Our timeline has been restored, remember. Even if we could send something back to the right time, in one piece -- if we interfere now, it could just undo whatever's supposed to happen. We could ruin everything." 

"But we don't even know if they'll survive -- if they'll make it back..." 

"We just have to wait, and hope." 

"Damn it -- Jen…" I muttered. Then I could have kicked myself as I saw Rachel turn away and quietly leave the room. There wasn't much else for me to say to Logan and the scientists. I excused myself and went after her. 

We had reached her office by the time I caught up. I followed her in. She walked behind her desk and turned to face me across it, her face cool and controlled. We just stared at each other for a few seconds. 

"Rachel, I'm sorry…" I started. 

"For what? I knew what the situation was. You love Jen." She smiled. "What happened between us was because we were afraid, because we thought it didn't matter anymore." 

"But now it does matter." 

"No, it doesn't. It didn't mean anything, not really." She rested a hand on the desk and looked down at it. 

"But it _did_ happen," I said softly. 

"And we're both going to forget it." She sat behind the desk and looked at me calmly. 

"I suppose you're right." I felt relief, but also an unexpected pang of disappointment. "We're still -- all right with each other, aren't we?" 

"Of course." She gave me that warm smile, so familiar and reassuring. "We're friends, Alex. Nothing's going to change that." 

"Good. Well…" I still felt awkward. "I guess I'd better go." 

Her voice came again as I turned away. "Don't worry. Jen's a survivor. She'll beat Ransik. And she'll be back." 

That was when the guilt started in earnest. No matter what the circumstances, I had cheated on Jen. She was stranded two hundred years in the past, fighting for our existence, risking her life, and I had cheated on her. 

* * *

Time passed. The weeks began to stretch into months. Life returned to something approaching normal. There was the ever-present worry that the timeline would change again, but I suppose people can get used to anything. We held on. Rachel and I resumed something approaching our old friendship, only an undercurrent of discomfort remaining between us. 

There was always work, and I threw myself into it. Rachel and her team were working on a new morpher for me, of the same design as my original one. Part of me still hoped to get the red morpher back some day, so I asked them to make it black this time. Testing it, and getting myself back into combat condition, kept me busy. But not busy enough to keep me from wondering every day what was happening -- had happened -- to Lucas, Trip, Katie, and most of all, Jen. 

Then came the day when Logan summoned me to his office for another briefing. I recognized the woman with him, Sierra, one of our historical experts. I sat down, hoping for good news. 

"As you know, we've been going through the historical records, trying to find out what's happening -- what happened -- in 2001. Sierra's ready to give a report, and I thought you'd want to hear it." 

I nodded. Both of us looked at her as she ducked her head shyly, obviously embarrassed at being the focus of attention. "This is only preliminary -- and history's still in a state of flux..." she started. 

"We understand." 

"Well -- we find evidence of the Rangers -- your teammates -- in the past. They became quite famous in Silver Hills, despite their efforts to keep a low profile." 

"I would think anything like Power Rangers would have attracted a vast amount of attention at that time," I said. 

"Yes, well, Ransik and his mutants were attacking the city and a company called Bio-Lab. All but one of the Rangers managed to stay away from the news media for the most part..." 

"Which one?" 

She sighed. "Maybe I'd better just tell the whole story. Keep in mind that records from that time are incomplete. I'll get to why in a minute." Logan and I both nodded. 

"Ransik first appeared at the beginning of 2001. He attacked a library. Another mutant who fits the description of Steelix was with him. He was apparently looking for information, newspapers, magazines, historical records. The Rangers showed up, drove him off, and freed the people Ransik had held hostage." 

"So Trip did manage to unlock the morphers." 

"Apparently. Soon after that, Nadira and Steelix were involved in kidnapping a group of children. The Rangers got involved again, rescued the kids." She looked at me. "We have excellent eyewitness descriptions. There were five Rangers this time. The Red Ranger was with them." 

"But -- how could that be?" I asked. "Maybe it was the Quantum Ranger? The suits are similar." 

"No. A couple of months later, in spring 2001, the Quantum Ranger appeared, in addition to the original five." 

"The Quantum Ranger -- if it wasn't one of our team, who was it? And who was the Red Ranger?" 

"We know for a fact who the Quantum Ranger was. He was Eric Myers. He worked for Bio-Lab, in a security force called the Silver Guardians. Whether Jen gave him the morpher, or he just found it, we don't know. From all accounts, however, he and the other Rangers weren't very friendly at first. We also don't know for sure who the Red Ranger was. It seems likely he was Wesley Collins, the son of Alan Collins, owner of Bio-Lab." She looked at me as if the name should mean something. 

"Wesley Collins. Go on." 

"Take a look." Sierra pulled a piece of paper from a folder she was holding. With a smile she held it out. It was a copy of an old photograph, showing a young man with dark blond hair and blue-green eyes, smiling at a long-gone camera. I stared at it, stunned. It was _my_ face. 

"Alex? Do you think he's a relative? Your ancestor?" Logan asked after a moment. 

"I don't know... I guess it's likely, with that resemblance." I looked more closely. There were a few small differences, and of course his hair and eyes were lighter than mine. But it was still uncanny. 

"Maybe that's how he could use your morpher?" 

For some reason the thought annoyed me. "He wouldn't be a genetic match, no matter how much he looks like me." I gave the picture back to Sierra. "Trip must have found a way around the DNA lock. I'm surprised Jen would give the morpher to a civilian. A native of 2001." 

"At least it means they had help. And they found the Quantum morpher. There were six of them against Ransik and his group. Even numbers." 

"Yes. At least they had a chance." But I didn't smile. Somehow it bothered me. Jen had given my morpher away, to a stranger who looked just like me. And she thought I was dead... 

"Go on," Logan said to Sierra. 

"They apparently captured Steelix early on, and Brickneck when the Quantum Ranger showed up. Neither of them was seen again. Then..." She smiled. "They got the Q-Rex." 

"What? How? Was it still functional after sixty-five million years?" 

"There are reports of something resembling a timehole -- they must have gone back in time somehow to get it. Most of the timestream disruption is between now and 2001, they could have done it. Ransik had a timehole generator. Maybe they used that." 

"And then?" 

Now she frowned. "There were two major battles between the Rangers and a combat machine which was probably built by Frax. The Rangers won both times, but with a great deal of destruction to the city, especially the second time. Both Ransik's machine and the Q-Rex were destroyed. It's hard to get accurate accounts, there was a great deal of confusion. Many records were destroyed at the time, in the battle, and of course more were lost in the great earthquake a hundred years later. We do know the Red and Quantum Rangers were seen again, occasionally. There are a few reports of the other Rangers appearing, but it's impossible to tell if they're true." 

"That could mean they came home, Alex," Logan said. It could also mean they had died. None of us said it. 

"Afterwards, Silver Hills rebuilt, slowly. Wesley Collins joined Eric Myers as co-commander of the Silver Guardians. They apparently made a good combination, Eric was tough, Wes was likable. Together, they pulled the Guardians, and Bio-Lab, through some hard times. In another hundred years, the Guardians formed a task force to prevent the misuse of early time travel devices. Later they also took on the problem of controlling powerful mutant criminals. Eventually they changed their name to Time Force." 

"So," Logan said softly. "That's what Ransik was after. Prevent Time Force from existing by destroying Bio-Lab, or perhaps killing Eric and Wes." 

"But Jen prevented it, by fighting Ransik, and by giving them the morphers..." I said. 

"Yes. We owe a lot to Jen, Lucas, Katie, and Trip." 

"I just hope we get a chance to thank them." Logan and I stared somberly at each other. 

* * *

It looked like an ordinary house, set back from the road, separated from its neighbors by fencing, trees, and bushes. Whoever lived there wasn't very social. With good reason. Logan and I looked it over from our position behind a line of trees bordering the street. I glanced back at the squads of Time Force officers behind us. 

Life went on as we waited for word of our team in 2001. We had been tracking down a gang that was involved with the theft of weapons and an outdated technology that had been used to create mutants decades ago. The trail had led here, and we had read signs of mutant DNA from this house. There had also been traces of temporal distortion reported from this area before the timestream had become too disrupted for travel, so we suspected they had also been using an illegal timehole. All of it added up to serious trouble. That was why I was here. 

It was my first time back in real action as a Ranger. I glanced down at my wrist, the new black morpher securely strapped on it. The memory came back, disturbingly vivid, of going up against Ransik. I was fully recovered now, at least physically. 

That battle had been a year ago, a year of waiting while the timestream slowly stabilized, and had now been passable for a few months. Apparently events in the past had gone well, and nothing had interfered further with history. We had renewed our efforts to communicate with Jen and her team, so far with no results. Logan was reluctant to risk interfering with history again, but he had finally agreed to send a ship after them if we didn't hear anything in a few more weeks. Somehow knowing that it would be over soon, that Jen would be back -- or that I would know she was never coming back -- had heightened my tension. 

"We read only one mutant inside," Logan said, interrupting my thoughts. 

"Good. Any idea who it is?" 

"No. The house is owned by a human. Lorent. No criminal record." 

"They have that mutating treatment. Maybe they've used it on a human. Maybe that's the mutant we're reading." 

"Possible." Logan's face became even grimmer. "It seems unlikely. Who would use that stuff, knowing what it does?" 

We were talking about Muta-Chem, an old method of manipulating DNA. It was capable of transforming an ordinary human into a powerful mutant, almost as strong as Ransik or his soldiers. However, it had one big drawback. It also killed the person who used it, usually after a few weeks or months. 

"I wonder why they stole it?" I murmured. "It's useless." 

"Useful to anyone who could get someone _else_ to take it," Logan answered. "Anyone who's ruthless enough to use it to make their own mutant soldiers, and doesn't care if they die." He turned to face me. "Ready?" 

"Ready as I'll ever be." I raised my morpher and pressed the button, blinking as the light flashed over me, energy surged through me, and my uniform was replaced by the new Black Ranger suit. 

As I stepped from behind the trees and walked up to the house, memory came back again of entering that laboratory, looking for Ransik. I held on to the knowledge that I had won that battle. But then in my mind I was walking out on that roof again, feeling his arm against my throat like a band of iron, feeling the blaster shots... 

It wouldn't happen again, not this time. I realized I had stopped, and started for the door again, walking steadily up to it. I knocked, and tried the knob when there was no answer. To my surprise it turned. I went in. 

The inside was quiet and peaceful, a normal house, nicely decorated, but somehow menacing. I knew the mutant we had detected was in here somewhere. I moved silently through the rooms, then up a narrow staircase to the second floor. That's when I heard him. 

He sprang out at me with an incoherent snarl, hitting me just as I reached the top of the stairs. We fell back, I grabbed at the rail but my hand slipped, and we rolled and tumbled down to land on the floor in a heap, him on top of me, the impact driving my breath out with a jolt. He was on his feet and kicking me viciously in the ribs before I could recover. I grabbed his foot and yanked, pulling him off balance, then send a hard kick up into his stomach. He fell on his back with a thud and lay there for a moment. I scrambled up and got my first good look. 

He was young, around twenty perhaps. It was hard to tell. His skin had a rough, pebbly texture and was a strange grayish color. His hair was two-toned, the outer part of each hair a normal brown, but the centimeters growing from his scalp were a bright purple. His eyes were odd, too, they also had a purple tint as he glared up at me, snarling like a wounded animal. 

In fact, _wounded_ was exactly the impression I got. He looked terrified, savage, like a cornered animal, his expression holding no sanity. I stepped back, some instinct telling me he was acting more out of fear than hostility. He got to his feet and backed away, staggering slightly, never taking his eyes off me, slightly hunched and with his arms wrapped around his middle. I started to wonder if I had hurt him more than I thought with that kick. 

I got out my badge and held it up. "Time Force, you're under arrest," I announced. 

He just stared, showing no sign of understanding, still backing away as I stepped closer. Then he winced, grimaced with pain, and bent over. As I hesitated, he slowly fell to his knees and then collapsed onto the floor. I summoned my blaster and cautiously nudged him a few times with my foot before calling in the troops with my communicator. Seconds later we were surrounded by TF officers. A medical tech was waving a scanner over my mystery opponent. Logan was standing at my side. 

"He didn't seem very strong, for a mutant," I said. "When he kicked me, I hardly felt it. If he hadn't taken me by surprise, he never would have knocked me down in the first place." I frowned, watching. "He looks sick to me." 

The medtech looked up at us. He stood and started to put his scanner away. "More than sick. He's dead," he said, looking back down at the mutant. 

"What?" I gasped, unable to say anything more for a moment. "I didn't hit him that hard! Did I?" 

"Not your fault," the medtech said. "He was dying when you fought him. I'm surprised he could stay on his feet." 

"What killed him?" Logan asked. 

"Genetic decay in every cell. Failure of every system in his body. Poor guy must have suffered." He looked at us again. "We'll have to do some testing to be sure, but it's consistent with use of the Muta-Chem treatment." 

"Poor bastard," Logan muttered. "They actually used the stuff." 

I felt my jaw clench. "And just abandoned him when he was dying. What kind of heartless..." I stared down at the mutant, looking vulnerable now in death, alone on the floor as the other officers stepped away from him. Whoever we were up against had used this young man and then discarded him like a piece of equipment that no longer worked. I wondered who he had been, if we would ever find out his name, if there was someone somewhere who would miss him... 

* * *

I was finishing up the paperwork for my report on the incident, back in my office in Time Force HQ, when the call came. It was Logan. His voice burst from my vidphone with unaccustomed enthusiasm, his face beaming at me from the screen. 

"We've gotten through! We're in communication! All of them are all right!" 

There could only be one thing he was talking about. "Jen?" I asked. 

"She's fine, Alex. They're coming home in a few days. She said to say hello." 

* * *

TBC... 


	7. Homecoming

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Once again, this is an AU, several details are quite different from the series. 

Please review, I live for feedback. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Homecoming

* * *

I couldn't believe it. After a year, Jen was coming home. A year of waiting, and worrying, not knowing if I would ever see her again. A year that she had spent thinking I was dead. The memory of Rachel, that night, came back to me. Guiltily I pushed it away, determined that Jen would never be hurt by knowing of my weakness, my infidelity. It was followed by the uneasy thought of Wes Collins, my double in the past, of how she must have felt, working with him every day. 

We had sent an empty ship for them, on autopilot. Now we watched as it swept in for a landing at the Time Force timeship field, outside the main ship hangar. I thought I could detect Lucas's piloting skill as it settled down. It landed, and sat quietly for a few moments. 

I was part of a welcoming committee, along with Logan, a few other Time Force command officers and scientists, and Katie's, Trip's, and Lucas's parents. Rachel was there too, staying as far away from me as possible, her eyes avoiding mine. All of us approached the ship, taking up our places, Logan and me standing in front of the door as it began to open. 

Lucas was first out, jumping to the ground with a big grin on his face. For a moment I thought he was going to hug me, but he only shook my hand enthusiastically and then moved on to Logan. Trip was next, and then Katie. He shook my hand also, and she hugged me, her strength squeezing my breath out. Then she was running and hurling herself into her parents' arms, almost knocking them over. A buzz of excited conversation rose as a crowd converged on the three of them. 

I watched the doorway as Jen finally appeared. Everyone and everything else seemed to fade away as our eyes met. She smiled, a little hesitation in her expression, and stepped closer. We faced each other, just looking and smiling, until I swept her into a hug. She returned the embrace, but stepped back before I could kiss her. I thought she was just shy in front of all those people. 

Then we were both swallowed up in the crowd, Logan taking Jen's hand and then hugging her, questions flying, Lucas and Trip grinning, Katie starting to cry. I saw Rachel say hello to Jen, shaking her hand, nothing in her face betraying her inner feelings. Again I felt that strange twinge of regret, that feeling that I had lost something important. 

We began to walk, moving back toward the main HQ building. Logan took over, leading the way to his office. At the door he ushered Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, and me in. The others left. This initial debriefing would be kept small, out of consideration for the ordeal our team had been through. Time Force command would view the recording we would make of it, and ask any further questions they felt to be necessary later. 

When we were all seated, Logan began. "First of all, let me congratulate all of you again. You restored the timeline. Saved our reality. Time Force offers its official gratitude." He grinned. "You all did a hell of a job, under very difficult conditions. Promotions will be coming soon." 

"Thank you, sir," Jen said. 

"Man, we're glad to be back," Lucas said. 

"Yeah. But kind of sad, too." Trip's voice was less enthusiastic. 

"Why, what's wrong?" Logan asked. 

"We were in 2001 for a year," Katie said softly, her eyes on first Trip and then Jen. "We got pretty attached. We're going to miss it." 

"I understand you had friends there." 

"Yeah. Friends," Trip said. His eyes went to Jen, too. 

Logan watched them for a moment and then continued briskly. "Now, let's move on to the debriefing. Why don't you just tell us what happened, in your own words." 

"Yes, sir." Jen took a breath. The others simply looked to her, obviously they had agreed that she would speak for all of them. 

"The trip to 2001 was rough," she started. "The timestream was already disrupted, as you remember. We barely made it in one piece. Passed out and crash-landed. I still don't know how Lucas got us down alive." She exchanged a smile with him. 

"The ship was starting to burn when we came to. We just grabbed whatever we could and got out. Ran. The engines exploded." A shadow passed over her face at the memory. "We found a little equipment we could use in the wreckage. But basically all we had at first was the morphers, the vectorcycles, our medical unit, some of Trip's instruments, and Circuit -- Trip's computer. Our long-range scanner and our teleportation home unit were gone. The chrono-communicator was badly damaged and took a few months to repair." 

"That's why we couldn't get in touch with you." 

"Yes. We received your recorded message. But after that -- nothing. I think it was because reality shifted several times while we were in the past. We weren't in the same timeline as you for most of the time we were there." 

"So -- what did you do?" I asked. "How did you survive, with no ship? How did you unlock the morphers?" 

"Trip was able to modify the red Morpher to accept someone genetically similar to you," Jen said, her expression becoming slightly uncomfortable. 

"Wes Collins." 

"Yes." She was quiet for a moment, biting her lip. "We found him by accident. Needed him to use the red morpher the first time we used ours. He helped us find a place to live and a way to make money, wanted to keep on being a Ranger..." 

"He was great, Alex. A great Ranger. We couldn't have done it without him," Trip said. All of them nodded, their eyes not quite meeting mine. I thought it was because they had given him my morpher, and left it with him. In light of their help -- and their importance -- both Wes and Eric had been allowed to keep their morphers permanently. 

"We captured Steelix with his help," Jen went on. "And then... then the Quantum morpher showed up. Brickneck tried to take it." 

"But Eric Myers got it. How?" Logan asked. 

They all smiled. "Actually, he stole it. He was there, with the Silver Guardians, when we were fighting Brickneck for it, and he took it and used it. Captured Brickneck." 

"You were lucky he turned out to be on your side. It could easily have fallen into the wrong hands." 

Another smile from all of them. "We thought it _had_ fallen into the wrong hands, at first," Jen said. "Eric's an -- interesting person. We weren't at all sure which side he was on for a while, but he also captured Conwing, and helped us fight Frax's battle machine. We couldn't have done it without his help, either." 

"Go on," Logan said. "Tell us about the two big attacks on Silver Hills, by Frax's machine." 

"All right." Jen's eyes seemed to become distant as she spoke. "The Dragon. That's what we called it. It was a flying fortress, made to look like a dragon. It attacked, apparently just trying to destroy as much as possible. I think Frax had gone insane by then..." 

She looked directly at me. "That's when you showed up." 

"What? Me?" 

She smiled. "Yes. You, but from an alternate reality. Your instruments have picked up traces of it, it's the one in which there was a long war with the mutants, but humans were winning. At a cost." The smile faded. "You were... different. Harder, grimmer. From a harder and grimmer world, that was created when Wes died but Eric lived." She hesitated, looking at my face. "We assumed you're descended from Wes. We wondered how you could exist in a timeline in which Wes died without children." 

For some reason discussing my relationship to Wes made me uncomfortable. "We don't know that I was directly descended from him. Or he could have had a child already when you were there, that you didn't know about, maybe that he didn't know about." 

Trip spoke up unexpectedly. "Temporal theory predicts that the same people will tend to exist in similar timelines. Alex in our reality could be Wes's direct descendant, but Alex in another reality could be descended from someone else related to Wes, a cousin or something. Same person, from different ancestors." 

"So he -- I -- came back to 2001. What did I do?" 

"You took the red morpher from Wes. But... it didn't work out. You gave it back. You saved Wes's father's life. Then you left. Went home." 

I was silent, both from the realization that all of it seemed vaguely familiar, and because I had the distinct impression there were several things she wasn't telling me. I didn't want to press. Not now. 

"With Wes and Eric's help, we destroyed the Dragon. Frax disappeared. Ransik and Nadira were quiet for a while. Then -- they attacked again, with a new machine. You called us, by communicator. Warned us that we would all die in the fight. Wanted us to come back. Sent a ship for us." 

"And?" Logan prompted when she was silent. 

"We didn't want to go. Didn't want to leave Wes and Eric to fight our battle. But Wes tricked us into the ship, sent us back." 

"You mean... you came back to our time? Before now?" 

"Yes, but not this timeline." She looked up. "It was terrible. So many people dead. All the mutants either dead or locked up in detention camps. They were going to send Trip and Katie to a camp. 

"But it turned out that by removing us from 2001, Alex had changed history again. Reality was reverting to the one with most of the people on Earth dead. They had to send us back again, but they gave us a new ship, new weapons. That made the difference. We beat Frax, saved Wes and Eric. Restored our own world. All of us owe _him_ a debt, too, that other Alex. 

"We captured Ransik and Nadira -- or rather, Nadira had a change of heart and Ransik gave himself up. Frax was destroyed." She hesitated, clasping her hands together. "Ransik and Nadira both changed when they found out what their interference with history had done. We think they're sincere. We're going to ask for leniency for Nadira, especially." 

I could see Logan's surprise. "I'm sure Command will take it under advisement." When Jen was quiet, he went on. "Well. I'm sure all of you are tired. I'll let you go home, get some rest. You can go into more detail later, if we need it." Logan stood, and the rest of us followed his example. "Once again, welcome home." 

"Thanks," Jen said again. She glanced at my face, and then away. 

* * *

Jen and I walked out together, her hand in mine, not rejecting but unresponsive, as we started toward her apartment. I watched her face. She looked steadily ahead. Already my thoughts of a joyful reunion in bed were gone. I knew something was seriously wrong. 

"Jen, what is it?" I asked. 

At least she didn't try to deny it. She turned an unhappy face up to me. For the first time I noticed that her eyes were slightly reddened and puffy, as if she had been crying recently. "We have to talk," she said. "In private." 

We arrived at her door in silence, and she silently opened it. We stepped inside. Jen stopped and just stared around her for a few seconds. 

"It's good to be home," she said quietly. "Everything's so clean. I thought it would be all dusty." 

"I had the place cleaned. And I changed your sheets and towels. Thought you shouldn't have to deal with a dirty apartment, after what you've been through." 

"Oh, Alex…" she looked at me again, her face miserable now. To my alarm, she began to cry. 

"What's wrong?" 

"Alex…" She stared at me, eyes brimming, and then looked down and dug into a pocket of the twenty-first century outfit she was still wearing. Her hand came out with her engagement ring in it. I hadn't even noticed that it wasn't on her finger. She held it out to me. 

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice muffled and trembling. 

"Jen… what's going on?" I just stared at her, not understanding. 

"I can't marry you." She held out the ring again, her eyes downturned. When I made no move to take it she lifted my hand and pressed it into my palm. 

"What do you mean? Why?" My first thought was that she somehow had found out about Rachel. 

"I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't mean for it to happen, but we thought you were dead… and then you showed up, but you were so different, and it had already happened, and I didn't know if you'd even still be alive if we restored the original reality… I couldn't help it." She finally looked at my face again. "I fell in love with someone else. Wes Collins. I'm sorry." 

I felt as if I had been punched in the gut. This was what I had waited a year for, this was why I had tortured myself with guilt over my mistake with Rachel. My Jen, my perfect Jen, had been more unfaithful than I could have dreamed of being. I don't even know how long it took before I could speak again. 

"You fell in love," I said flatly. 

"Yes. I'm sorry." 

"You're sorry. Wes Collins? The one who looks like me?" 

"Yes." It was almost a whimper. 

I couldn't understand, or wouldn't. "But... how? How could you?" 

"I thought you were dead, Alex!" She looked away. "I didn't plan this, I didn't want it, but it happened." 

For some reason I latched onto the part that should have been least important. "But he's a native of 2001. You can't stay with him. He can't come here. You'll never see him again." 

"I know." The way she said it, the heartbreak in her voice, told me how much she loved him more than all the declarations in the world. 

It bit deep into my heart. For the first time in my life, I discovered just how ugly jealousy can be, how it can twist your mind, bend your soul, make you do things, say things… "So -- you're dumping me for a man you can't even have?" I glared at her. "I can't believe you'd do this! I've been waiting for you… imagining every kind of terrible thing that might be happening to you… and you were -- were screwing around with some guy -- someone in the _past_, for Christsake, do you even know what kind of temporal interference rules you were breaking?" 

"I know…" She backed a step away, wrapping her arms around herself. 

"I can't believe this! Did you -- did you do it with him? Sleep with him?" 

"Yes," she whispered. 

"Oh God, Jen…" I had unconsciously clenched my fists. The ring cut into my hand. I raised it, looked at the piece of jewelry that was supposed to symbolize our love. In that moment fury and jealousy took me over. 

"_Bitch_!" I threw the ring at her. She winced as it bounced off her shoulder and fell to the floor. I turned away, blindly, ran out, got out of that building and as far away as I could get, afraid that if I stayed I would strike out with more than words. 

* * *

I don't think I can even describe how I felt that night. The dreams I had dreamed -- of the two of us together again, of holding her again, seeing her smile, kissing her and feeling her warmth -- all gone. For a selfish moment I even wished she had died back in the past, before she could betray me. 

Then other thoughts came. Hadn't I done the same thing? I hadn't fallen in love. But I had been with another woman, and I couldn't say it hadn't meant anything. It had only been because I was afraid, and didn't want to be alone, and Jen had been gone. Jen had been alone, too, and afraid, she had thought I was dead -- could I blame her any more than I blamed myself? 

Another twinge of guilt came. At least she had been honest enough to tell me. But I hadn't told because I didn't want to hurt her. I still didn't want her to know. The time with Rachel didn't have to make a difference, but Jen said she was in love with Wes -- enough to break our engagement, even when she couldn't be with him... 

I tortured myself for most of the night, zigzagging between anger and guilt, but always with jealousy burning me up inside. Early morning found me, exhausted but sleepless, in the Time Force gymnasium, trying to lose myself in mindless exercise, maybe trying to tire myself out to the point where I would no longer be able to think. 

Afterwards I started for home, and took a detour through the park between the residence buildings, the same lovely little park where Jen and I had first kissed. The unwelcome memory came that it was also the place where I had kissed Rachel. I felt little more than numbness. The anger, the guilt, even the jealousy had burned themselves out, leaving only misery. 

Then I saw her. Jen was sitting on that same bench where we had kissed, that first time. She saw me at the same moment, her pale, drawn face telling me she felt as badly as I did. Suddenly all of it seemed unimportant, compared to the fact that we had been friends, and teammates, that we had loved each other. The love was still there, and always would be. I walked over to her, and sat down when she smiled at me tentatively. We looked at each other, then both turned to look out over the clearing in front of us. 

"I'm glad you're home," I said. "No matter what." 

"Thanks. I'm glad you're here. That you're all right." 

"I -- I shouldn't have gotten so angry. After everything that's happened, I should have understood." 

"No." She shook her head. "It was a natural reaction. I don't blame you at all." 

"You could have just not told me. We could have just -- picked up our lives again." 

"Wouldn't have been fair to you." 

"Jen..." I turned to look at her profile. She looked like she hadn't slept at all either. "Do you still love me?" Even as I asked, I knew what I wanted. I still wanted to marry her. Wes wasn't here. Sooner or later she would forget him. We would have to wait -- I would have to be patient -- but we could still be together. 

"I'll always love you, Alex." From her expression as she faced me, I could see that she had been thinking about this. "But I'm not sure if it's the same kind of love anymore. I'm not too sure of anything. I just know it wouldn't be fair for me to marry you." 

"There's no rush. We have time." I smiled a little at the use of the word. 

We sat in an almost companionable silence for awhile, looking out at the trees again as the breeze drifted a few falling leaves to the ground. Then Jen spoke softly. 

"They say you can't go home again. Now I know what they mean. I'm back, everything's the same, but everything's different. _I'm_ different. Too much has happened. Things will never be the same, I'll never see them the same way again." There was a sadness in her voice that was heartbreaking. 

"This is still your home. You just need to adjust. A year in a different time -- of course you feel disoriented." 

"I suppose." She sighed. 

I forced myself to say the next thing. "You miss him, don't you?" 

She glanced at me quickly. "Yes, I do." After a pause she added, "I said goodbye to him only yesterday. But it was two hundred years ago. He's -- he's dead now. Eric -- everyone we knew there is dead now." 

I said something even more difficult. "Tell me about him." 

"You don't want to hear it." 

"Yes, I do. Maybe it'll help me understand." She stared at me, her face skeptical and questioning. "I want to understand, Jen," I went on. "I'm not angry anymore. We've been apart for a year -- my feelings have changed, too. I don't really know what I feel now, either." 

"All right." She didn't look at me. 

I smiled as Jen started to talk. She would tell me everything, what she had seen in Wes, why she had loved him, whether it was something he had, or did, that she hadn't found in me. There was no reason for me to give up. I could still win her back. I had always been able to do anything I set out to do, and this was no different. 

"The first time I saw him, it was such a shock," she began. "I thought I was seeing things -- because I wanted to see _you_ so much..." 

* * *

TBC... 


	8. Patchwork

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Patchwork

* * *

We sat in the Time Force courtroom again, almost like the first time, watching Ransik stand in the middle of the floor. With harsh light shining on him, somehow he wore his chains like a badge of honor, facing his fate with his back straight and his face calm. Again I felt that unwilling admiration for him. This time he had company. Nadira stood at his side, and Conwing, Steelix, and Brickneck were in a group nearby. 

Jen sat next to me on one side, Logan on the other. I could hear Trip, Lucas, and Katie talking behind us in low voices. I watched Jen out of the corner of my eye. She still didn't seem entirely comfortable with me, and we were almost silent after the obligatory greetings. Logan quickly picked up our mood and sat quietly also. 

"They'll give Ransik life, for sure," Trip was saying. 

"Yeah," Katie answered, a hint of regret in her voice. "In a way, I'm almost sorry for him." 

"What?" Lucas demanded. "You saw for yourself what he did in 2001. How many people died because of him? And he killed Alex, almost. Tried to kill all of us." 

"I know what Katie means. He thought he was doing the right thing, for his people. His cause." 

"How can you say that, Trip? There's no cause that justifies the things he did." 

"He thought there is," Katie broke in. "Face it, Lucas, there's a lot of prejudice against mutants. He doesn't even look human. Think what his life's been like." 

"I don't care. That's no reason to hurt people who never did anything to him." 

"Well -- you're right about that," Trip said. "But he's seen that he was wrong. He's sorry now." 

"Maybe. A little late for the people he killed. He still deserves to be locked up. So do Conwing, Steelix, and Brickneck." 

"And what about Nadira?" 

"Well -- she's different. She tried to stop Ransik. And she never really tried to hurt anyone." 

"Is that because you think she's really reformed?" Katie asked, her voice teasing. "Or because she's pretty?" 

"Well…" Lucas sounded amused, too. "Maybe both." 

Logan turned to give them a stern look. They fell quiet as the judges made their entrance and the courtroom hushed. The three judges took their places, looking down from their stand at the defendants. 

"We have reached our verdicts," the chief judge announced. "Ransik, for your crimes here and in the past, and for the crime of attempting to interfere with history, you are sentenced to confinement for life, with the possibility of parole. You will not be kept in isolation, and we hope you will use that opportunity to make some useful contribution to society." 

It was a more lenient sentence that I had expected. Apparently the judges had taken into consideration the facts that Ransik had surrendered and had done what he could to repair the damage he had done. He had been left with a chance for parole, so he might even be free some day. 

"Conwing, Steelix, and Brickneck. You are all sentenced to confinement for life. The possibility of parole will be contingent on psychological assessment." I nodded, they had been unwilling to give the followers harsher sentences than the leader, but were leaving the question of parole to after they had undergone in-depth mental profiling to determine whether they were still a threat. 

"Nadira. In light of the facts that you were influenced by your father, that you did not commit any serious violent crimes yourself, and that you attempted to prevent your father from changing history, we sentence you to six months of confinement, to be followed by three years of probation." I saw Jen smile slightly. It was a light sentence, lighter than I would have given her, but Jen and the others were in a better position to have an opinion than I was, and they all seemed pleased. 

We watched as the prisoners were removed. Ransik looked over at us as he was led out, sending an unpleasant prickle of déjà vu though me. But this time he smiled, apparently sincerely. 

Minutes later we were outside, the crowd breaking up into groups, melting away into the dusk. I touched Jen's arm as she drifted a little apart from the others. 

"Jen," I started. She looked at me inquiringly. Might as well just say it, I told myself. "I'd like us to get together sometime. Dinner. Whatever. As friends." 

I couldn't quite tell how she felt about it. It took her a moment to answer. "I'd like that too," she said finally. "I want us to stay friends." 

"Great." I smiled with real happiness. Friendship was the first step. She had loved me once, and I still had the same qualities that had attracted her then. With time, and patience, she would love me again. 

* * *

It was mostly guilt that made me want to talk to Rachel a few days later, guilt and the need to reassure myself that we understood each other, that we were still friends. I saw her leaving the building in the evening and hurried to catch up. 

She cast me a look as I came up to her, and gave me that warm, slightly shy smile. I fell in beside her as we walked over the large, decorative lawn in front of headquarters. For a few minutes we were silent, as I looked at the clear sky, down at the grass, anywhere but at her, and tried to think of what I wanted to say. 

"So," she said, beating me to it. "Jen's back." 

I glanced at her. She looked uncomfortable, and it occurred to me that she didn't quite know how to handle this either. I shrugged. "Yes, she's back." Feeling the sudden urge to confide, I went on. "It's not the same between us. We're not... exactly back together." 

I saw her eyes flash up to my face and then back down. "Well, she's been gone for a year. It's a long time, and a lot has happened to both of you." 

"Yeah, a lot happened, all right," I muttered. "She -- she met someone else." 

"What?" This time Rachel stopped and stared at me. I saw genuine concern in her face, and a flicker of something more, something she hid quickly. I wondered at it, and then wondered why it should be important to me. 

"Wes Collins. The one who took the red morpher. She fell in love with him!" I heard the anger and pain spill into my voice. "She gave me my ring back. Broke off our engagement, because of that -- that..." 

"I'm sorry." She was studying the ground again. 

"But I'm going to get her back. I'm not giving up." Now my tone was utterly grim and determined. 

Rachel shot me another glance, less sympathetic and more penetrating this time. She took a few moments to answer. "Maybe you should just... see what happens." 

"No. I'm not letting some bastard in the past beat me... take Jen away from me..." 

"Alex, this isn't a contest. Jen has to make her own decisions." 

I bit back an angry response and tried to calm down. She was right, of course. "I want her back, Rachel. I have to try." 

"If that's what you want, I wish you luck." She looked me in the face again, smiling, but with an element of hardness in her eyes. "I have to go." 

"Thanks for listening." I hesitated. "I'm glad we're friends, Rachel. You're... you've been great." 

"Yes. I'm a great... friend." With a last look that might have contained a flash of anger, she turned away and left, her steps rapid. 

I'm not a complete fool, I realized then that I had been totally insensitive. Too late, of course. At least I had been honest with Rachel, where I had not with Jen. Perhaps too honest. Briefly I cursed myself for doing everything wrong, as I watched her walk away. 

* * *

It was six months later when Ransik asked to see us. Logan summoned us to his office, closed the door, and sat behind his desk with a sigh. He tossed a piece of paper to me. 

"Ransik. He's requested an interview with the five of you."

"Why? What would he want to say to us?" Jen asked as I was looking over the written request form. 

"You'll have to ask him." 

"I'll bet it's Nadira," Katie said. "She's getting out on parole. Maybe he wants us to keep an eye on her." 

"Maybe." Trip's voice was thoughtful. "I have the feeling it's more than that." I looked up at him. Trip had mild psychic abilities, we all treated his premonitions with respect. 

"Well? Are we going to do it?" Lucas asked, looking at me and then at Logan. 

"Why not?" I said. "When?" 

"Right now," Logan said. "I'll call the prison and let them know you're on your way." He reached for the vidphone as we all stood up. 

A few minutes later we were outside, walking across the Time Force flyer landing field. Jen came up beside me, and beckoned me a little aside, letting the others move ahead of us. 

"Alex, the four of us could talk to him," she said. "If you don't want to go." 

"I'll go. Why wouldn't I?" 

"You know why. Of all of us, you have the most reason to hate him. He killed you." 

For whatever reason, I felt irritated. Or maybe I knew the real reason. We had been seeing each other again, but it hadn't exactly been going the way I'd hoped. Jen remained friendly, but somehow distant. I had tried to be more like Wes for her, more easy-going, more relaxed, but that wasn't me. My frustration and sense of failure had become increasingly hard to deal with as the months went by without any progress past friendship. 

"You mean he beat me in a fight, and got away." 

"Well, yes. But there was more to it than that." 

"I'm not that sensitive. I can face him. It's probably harder on the four of you. You were fighting him for a year." 

"Yes. But we got him in the end." 

"Only because he gave up." She glanced at me sharply, and I realized how I had sounded. "Sorry. You did a great job." 

"Yes, we did." She gave another one of those looks before turning to follow the others. 

"Jen, wait. I'm sorry." 

"Look, Alex…" She turned back, straightening, obviously ready to say something that had been on her mind. I could just imagine what it was. "I can understand if you're still angry, but this isn't the place to show it." 

"I'm not still angry." 

"Don't deny it. You -- you snap at me. You pick arguments. This isn't the first time." 

"I think you're being too sensitive. You're taking what I said the wrong way. I didn't mean it as an insult. Just that _you_ have every reason not to want to see Ransik again too." 

"It was more your tone of voice than what you said." She looked at my face, her gaze penetrating this time. "But maybe you're right, I'm being too sensitive. Maybe we're still just not -- comfortable with each other." 

I smiled. "I'll try harder, if you will." 

She returned the smile and stuck her hand out. "Truce?" 

"Of course. We never declared war." I took her hand. It was warm, her touch familiar, and more affectionate than it had seemed since her return. I held on a few moments longer than necessary, encouraged when she returned the pressure. 

We smiled at each other, then both looked in the direction of our ship as Lucas shouted at us. 

"Hey! You guys going to talk all day, or are we going to get moving?" 

* * *

We filed into the small, white, bare room used for visits to the prisoners. There was just enough space for us on our side of a clear partition meant, I knew, to protect us from the criminal we would be talking to. In Ransik's case I doubted it would hold him, if he made a serious effort to get through it. 

There was another person already inside, sitting on one of the visitor chairs. A slender woman, long, bright pink hair, a sharp-featured, pretty face as she turned to look at us. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. 

"Nadira!" I heard Jen say behind me. 

She looked very nervous. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "Daddy asked me to be here. He wants to talk to all of us." 

"What about?" I asked. 

She shrugged, smiling as Lucas stepped in and took a chair next to her. "I don't know. I was only released today, and I haven't had a chance to see him since the trial. If it wasn't for Lucas I wouldn't have had any contact with my father." 

Lucas met our curious gazes with obvious embarrassment. "I visited Nadira a few times," he explained. "And saw Ransik once or twice. Took some messages between them." 

"Lucas was wonderful," Nadira said with a big, starry-eyed smile. "He came to see me every week. I don't know what I would have done without him." 

"Yeah, well, I kind of felt bad, after she tried to help us and all, you know," Lucas stammered, blushing. 

All of us tried to hide our smiles. I nodded. "Of course. You were just trying to be fair. Improve human-mutant relations." Trip gave a muffled snort of laughter. 

That was when the door into the prisoner holding area opened, and Ransik walked through. Nadira jumped up with a glad cry. The rest of us stared with various degrees of wary hostility. Ransik had a warm smile for his daughter and a cool gaze for the rest of us. Even dressed in prison gray, holes cut in the cloth for the metallic spikes that grew from his shoulders and arms, he looked formidable. 

We all sat after Ransik and Nadira had exchanged a quick greeting. "You wanted to see all of us?" I asked. 

"Yes." He looked me up and down. "Let me apologize for what I did to you," he began, to my surprise. "I had no desire to kill you, but I thought it was necessary at the time." With a look at my teammates he continued, "I caused all of you a great deal of pain. I'm sorry." 

"Is that all you wanted to say?" I asked. 

"Of course not. I want to warn you." He took a breath. "There's another mutant you need to be aware of. He's managed to hide his presence very effectively, you probably don't know of his existence. But I believe he intends to do the same thing I tried to do." 

"You mean prevent the creation of Time Force?" Jen asked. 

"Precisely. He could potentially be more dangerous to you than I was." 

"Who is he?" I asked. 

Ransik frowned. "I don't know." 

"What? You give us this warning and you don't even know who it is?" 

With a shrug, he said, "I only had contact with a few of his followers before my trip to 2001. Since my return, I've heard things. He's quite good at hiding his identity." 

"You heard things. Who from?" 

"I won't betray my sources." His face told me arguing would do no good. 

"I don't see how this does us any good, then." 

"Perhaps it won't. The only other thing I can tell you is that I believe he's responsible for that mutant you fought just before our return from the past. The one who died." His eyes moved to Nadira. "I've done what I can to help you. Now I would like you to help my daughter." 

"Daddy…" 

"Nadira is alone now. My former allies will have nothing to do with her now, and I wouldn't want her in contact with them. She's very young, and not equipped to take care of herself." 

"Daddy!" Nadira glared at him indignantly. "I'm not a child! I'll be fine." 

He went on as if she hadn't spoken. "All I'm asking is that you keep an eye on her. Help her if necessary." 

Lucas answered before I could. "I'd be happy to." 

"I'm not sure if _you'd_ be a help or a danger." 

"How can you say that, Daddy? After the way Lucas has been so good to us!" 

Ransik's eyes narrowed. "Don't hurt my daughter, Ranger. I still have friends on the outside." 

Lucas faltered for a moment, but his chin came up and his voice was steady. "I like Nadira. I wouldn't hurt her, at least not intentionally." 

They stared at each other, Lucas not backing down. After a few moments, Ransik began to smile slightly. He nodded. "All right. I'm glad to know my daughter has someone she can trust." He stood up. 

Taking that as a signal that the audience was over, we all got to our feet. The five of us left the room, giving Nadira a moment for a private goodbye with her father. We paused in the hallway. 

"Do you think he's right?" Katie asked. "About the -- the Mystery Mutant?" 

"You mean, is he telling the truth?" Jen muttered. "Or did he make all of that up?" 

"No, he wasn't lying. I have a bad feeling about what he said. There's someone out there who's going to make a lot of trouble," Trip said quietly. 

* * *

I walked Jen home that night. Our brief argument was still on my mind. She had seemed more like herself, showing some of the old spirit, perhaps emerging at last from the depression that seemed to have gripped her since her return. The last months of dates that ended with only a quick, tentative kiss were on my mind, too. Months of waiting, more or less patiently, with no reward. 

"Well," she said, stopping outside her door. 

"Well." I hesitated. Tonight I was in the mood to see how far she was willing to go. I stepped forward, took her shoulders in my hands, and leaned in to kiss her. 

She didn't turn her head or pull away, but she wasn't exactly eager, either. Our lips pressed together, I slid my arms around her, and pulled her against me. The kiss deepened, my breath came faster, I held her tightly and probed between her lips with my tongue. She tensed, her mouth firmly shut. Passion, anger, and frustration all came together in me, I clutched at her, trying to force the response I wanted, until she made a protesting sound and pushed me away. 

I let go and stepped back, humiliated and horrified at my own behavior. We stared at each other. "I'm sorry," I finally said. 

"It's okay. It's all right. I understand." 

"It's just… it's been so long. I want you." My voice was rough, and raw. It sounded unfamiliar. I listened to myself with amazement. This wasn't like me, not at all. All the pain of losing her seemed to be bursting out of me, and I couldn't stop it. 

"I'm sorry." It was almost a whisper. "It's not that I don't still care for you…" 

"Then _why_?" 

"It wouldn't be right… wouldn't be fair to you…" 

"Nothing about this is fair!" I took a few deep breaths. "It's Wes, isn't it? You've got some crazy idea of being faithful to him, don't you?" 

"No… I know it's over with Wes." 

"Damn right it's over! You'll never see him again! But you're still in love with him!" Another deep breath, but it didn't help. "You're a fool, Jen," I said more quietly. 

To my surprise, she didn't seem angry. She bent her head and murmured, "Maybe I am." 

We stood again, silently, two people who had loved each other once. I suppose we still did, I know I did, and I think she still felt it too, somewhere in her heart. I watched her, out of things to say, but unwilling to give up and leave. 

After a time she spoke again, her face still downturned. "Alex. If you want to see someone else, it's all right." 

Suddenly on the defensive, I straightened. "What makes you think there's anyone else?" 

"You're a very attractive man. Don't tell me no one else is interested." 

"I don't want anyone but you." 

The pain that filled my voice must have gotten through to her. She raised her face and looked at me, and I saw the tears in her eyes. Suddenly guilt replaced all the anger. 

"Jen… oh, Jen, I'm sorry." 

She shook her head, her face crumpling. I stepped forward and took her in my arms again, this time gently pulling her head against my shoulder. She hugged me back. I could feel her body heave, and heard sobbing. 

After what seemed like minutes, she quieted enough to speak again. "You're right, Alex," she said softly. "I'm a fool. But I have to face the fact that I fell in love with someone else, and I have to try to be honest with you about it. We can't just pretend it didn't happen." 

"No, I suppose not." 

"I do still love you, but..." 

"I understand." 

"I need time. I need to figure all of this out." 

It had been six months. "Take all the time you want. I can wait," was all I said. 

She straightened and stepped out of my embrace. We kissed, softly and affectionately, but without passion. She opened her door and stepped inside, turning to smile at me, her mouth still trembling. 

"Thank you. I want you to know…" She paused, seeming to search for words. "You've been really wonderful." 

I smiled woodenly and denied my own wonderfulness, and stood there while she closed the door. I felt very far from wonderful. She had been honest; she was trying to be fair. I had again hidden my own false step. I told myself it was because I didn't want to hurt her, because I didn't want to make trouble between her and Rachel. But I knew the truth. I was afraid, afraid of her jealousy, maybe more afraid that she wouldn't be jealous. Afraid to risk jeopardizing whatever chance we still had, mostly afraid to admit my own imperfection. 

* * *

TBC... 


	9. Battleground

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

As ever, Please review... 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Battleground

* * *

More time went by, the weeks stretching into months, until one day I realized Jen had been back for a year. Life had returned to normal, the business of Time Force went on. We searched in vain for the mutant mastermind Ransik had warned us about. All we found was that he must indeed be very good at covering his tracks, if he even existed at all. We continued to investigate the 'artificial' mutant I had fought, and Lorent, the human in whose house we had found him. Both trails lead nowhere. 

Nadira astonished us all, both by managing to get a job at a daycare center, and by being good at it. She took to working with children with amazing ease, revealing a generous and outgoing nature. Katie said it shouldn't be so surprising; Nadira's really a child herself, at heart. Lucas spent several weeks finding various excuses to spend time with her. Finally he gave up on denying that he's interested in her, and they started dating. He quickly began to neglect his work, walk around in a daze, and become incoherent every time her name was mentioned. In other words, to act like a man in love. 

And what about Jen and me? We were still seeing each other, not frequently, not seriously, mostly just trying to be friends. She remained distant, and I remained determined to get her back, to make her remember why she had fallen in love with me in the first place, not to accept defeat. 

It was not an easy time for me. Sometimes I wanted her so much I ached with it. Sometimes I found myself wondering why I was wasting my time, and thinking about Rachel. And sometimes I was eaten up with jealousy and anger, wanted to hurt Jen, crush the memory of Wes out of her brain, and then take a timeship back two hundred years and blast the life out of Wesley Collins. 

Wes. He haunted me, mocking me across the centuries. With the stabilization of the timeline and the return of Jen and her team as conquering heroes, the story of Ransik's activities in the past and information about the origins of Time Force had inevitably become public knowledge. Wes Collins and Eric Myers had become famous historical characters, and inspired quite a fad, involving documentaries, advertisements, even fashions based on Silver Guardian uniforms. 

Seeing Eric's rather harsh face scowling out at me from posters and vidscreens was one thing. It was entirely another matter when it was Wes plastered all over the city, and not only because of my jealousy. I couldn't escape him, I saw that same face in the mirror every day. 

I began to avoid going outside of Time Force grounds. Even a simple shopping trip or meal out at a restaurant meant seeing almost every head turn, staring at me in surprise and recognition. Then came the invitations to be interviewed on news shows and talk shows, to make personal appearances. Everyone wanted to know whether I was really Wesley Collins' descendant, and how it felt to be Wesley Collins' look-alike. 

How _did_ it feel? I started to hate him. He had taken my fiancée, used my morpher and been permitted to keep it. _He_ had become famous as the Red Ranger, even though I had been first. _He_ was admired as the one who beat Ransik, when I had beaten him first. _He_ was the one who had become a great hero, who had a place in history. Two years ago people had recognized me as the Red Ranger. Now I was only Wes Collins' double. It was unnerving, demoralizing. 

Such was my state of mind as I stared at a small abandoned office building in one of the more dismal sections of Silver City. We had finally gotten a lead, at the cost of another life. A mutant had shown up, dead, with the same DNA deterioration as the one I had watched die the last time I used the Ranger suit. A witness had surfaced who said he saw two men carry the body from this building and leave it in the alleyway where it had been found. When we checked it out we had scanned mutant DNA inside. 

This time the whole team was going into action, me with four other Rangers at my side. I quickly glanced over the others. Jen was looking quietly determined, Lucas the same, Trip and Katie had a sparkle of excitement in their eyes. It occurred to me that all of them now had considerably more experience as Rangers than I did. I stifled that, and the resentful thought that I should have been wearing red instead of black. 

After a glance behind me at Logan, I raised my arm and nodded to the others. We all pressed the activating buttons on our morphers, and in five glittering flashes of light, we were the Time Force Rangers. The transformation completed, I beckoned to my teammates and led the way to the building entrance. 

It was dark inside, and gloomy. A casual visitor would assume that no one had walked through these corridors in years, but with the enhanced vision the suit gave me I could see that the traces of dust on the floor were disturbed. We moved slowly and cautiously further inside. 

It was a typical office building, a maze of corridors with doors opening off them, many standing ajar to reveal empty offices. There was some furniture here and there, looking lonely and abandoned. 

Trip consulted his scanner and beckoned us on. We followed him down corridors and around turns, the darkness and silence pressing in on us. Then he paused, stopped, and motioned us to proceed slowly. We crept forward as I caught a low murmur of voices and the sound of footsteps approaching. 

It happened fast. A tall, shadowy figure appeared, stepping out of one of the offices. He saw us instantly, froze for a moment, and then ran, surprisingly fast for someone so large. We charged after him. 

I was in the lead as we ran down darkened hallways. The suit made me fast, fast enough to catch up. As I reached for him, he turned. I saw dim light glint off the blaster in his hand, before the beam shot toward me. I jumped back, feeling a reflexive fear, at the same instant trying to tell myself this wasn't Ransik, I wasn't going to die again. The blast hit me, stinging painfully but doing no more harm than that. 

Lucas banged into me from behind, cursing as we both staggered. The shadowy man whirled away and ran again. I glanced back to check on my team, seeing them right behind me. 

"Alex?" Jen called. "Are you all right?" 

"I'm fine. Come on." I was angry now, embarrassed at my own weakness, ready to take it out on shadow-man. 

Suddenly a new figure appeared, barreling out of the same office the man had come from, not trying to run away but dashing into our midst from behind. This one was small and slim, unmistakably feminine, with light-colored hair. She hit hard and amazingly fast. 

Catching Katie by surprise, she punched her in the stomach, leaving her doubled over and falling to one knee. A savage kick to Trip's midsection send him slamming into the wall. Jen jumped toward her, swinging a fist at her face. She ducked, grabbed Jen, and threw her down the corridor, where she fell and skidded for several meters. 

Lucas tried to hit her with a spin kick next. The woman grabbed his foot and yanked him up, then slammed him down to the floor with both hands. Then I was facing her. By this time I had summoned my blaster, obviously hand to hand combat was useless. But she was too fast and too close, she backhanded the blaster from my grip, wrapped her arms around me and lifted me into the air while squeezing the breath out of me. 

The next moment, I was on the floor on my back. The sound of receding running footsteps told me our opponents were getting away. My teammates were all groaning while climbing back to their feet. 

"Everyone okay?" I gasped. They all replied affirmatively. 

"Wow, did you see how strong she was?" Trip asked. 

"I _felt_ how strong she is." I got up. "Come on! They're getting away!" 

Again I was in the lead as we followed. I rounded a corner just in time to see the door to the stairwell swing shut. We dashed through it, crowding into the floor landing as Trip used his scanner again. Then we were running down the stairs as fast as we could, spilling out into the basement in moments. 

It was a little better lit down there, the dim glow of emergency lights letting us get our bearings. I guess it was a typical basement, a small group of offices to one side, most of the remaining space left open in one vast room dotted with the heavy machinery that had once supplied heat, cooling, water, and power. 

We spread out, moving into the empty space, every sense alert. Trip consulted his scanner and nodded toward the other side of the basement. We hurried in that direction. 

"Look!" Jen was the first to spot them, two shapes, one large and one small, running toward a door in the far wall. We all sprinted, chasing them with all the speed our suits could give us. 

The two of them reached the door with us only meters behind. Jen and I had summoned our blasters by this time. "Fire!" I shouted as the small one yanked at the doorknob, breaking the lock. 

The big one ducked, avoiding the first blasts. The woman heaved at the door again, wrenching it off its hinges, lifting it over her head and throwing it in our direction. We scrambled, but it hurtled directly at Trip and Lucas. At the last moment Katie leaped and caught it, falling back and crashing into the two of them. 

"See if they're okay!" I shouted at Jen. I turned back to the pursuit, running through the empty doorway into a dark corridor. Even as I so recklessly charged ahead, a blaster burst hit me. 

It hurt, but I hit the floor and returned fire, not very effectively since I couldn't see what I was shooting at. Another shot hit me, and another. The sensors in my helmet finally spotted them, hiding and shooting at me from around a corner, but I was already in trouble, my blaster weakening as the energy in my suit was drained. 

Two beams coming from behind me announced the arrival of Jen and Lucas, just in time, Trip and Katie limping behind them. They reached me as I felt the painful tingling shock and saw the warping light of an involuntary demorph. It was all too familiar. Jen saw and threw herself to the floor in front of me as a shield, Lucas crouched next to her and kept shooting. A moment later Trip and Katie were also in front of me, the hallway was ablaze with blaster fire, I still couldn't move, and the first beam that got through might kill me, permanently this time. 

"Get Alex out of here!" Jen yelled over the noise. 

"Stay in front of us!" Katie said. She grabbed me under the shoulders and began to drag me back. The others backed after us, still protecting me while returning fire. After what seemed like hours but was only seconds, we were safely out and back in the basement. 

Jen, Trip, and Lucas headed back after them despite my gasped protest. Perhaps a minute later they were back. "They got away," Jen reported, her face grim. "That corridor leads to another building. Our troops stationed outside never even saw them." 

"_Damn_ it," I muttered. "I should have stayed back. Should have..." 

"Not your fault." 

I just glanced at her concerned face before turning away. 

* * *

I wasn't in a good mood that night, blaming myself for our failure, trying to deny to myself that I was deeply shaken by the forcible demorph. Maybe that's why all of them, Jen, Trip, Katie, and Lucas and Nadira, insisted on going out to dinner with me. I would have preferred to be with Jen, alone, but she seemed to want the extra company. 

It quickly got irritating, watching Trip and Katie quietly talking, communicating with the ease of close friends. Lucas and Nadira were worse, holding hands, gazing into each other's eyes, ignoring the rest of us, generally being as annoying as only lovers can be. But of course my real problem was Jen, sitting there _not_ holding my hand, _not_ gazing into my eyes, leaving me feeling quite alone and unloved. 

I sat and sulked, of course only making myself feel worse when they all persisted in carrying on a comfortable conversation anyway. Trip and Katie in particular seemed to be in an inappropriately cheerful mood. 

"It was so great using the suit again!" Trip exclaimed. 

"Yeah, it's been months. Things have been so quiet since we got back," Katie said. 

"You mean boring. Remember how it was in 2001? Seems like there was a different mutant attacking every week." He flashed a guilty look at Nadira. "Sorry. No offense." 

"Don't worry," she said with a smile. "I know what my father and I did. I don't mind people talking about it." 

"I'd like to know who's behind these new mutants," Lucas commented. "You know, the ones who died." 

"Maybe the two we fought today." This was from Jen. 

"Yeah. Maybe one of them was the Mystery Mutant," Katie said. She and Lucas laughed. 

"Don't laugh. It could be true," Trip said solemnly. 

"What do you think?" Lucas asked Nadira. 

"Me?" She shifted, looking a little uncomfortable. "Daddy never really involved me with his friends. Said they were too rough. But I remember him talking about -- the Mystery Mutant is as good a name as any, I guess. He's been around for a few years, Daddy did business with some of his people. Tried to find out who he was, but never did. He was sure he was a man, and lives here in Silver City, but that's about all. Daddy thought he probably was passing for human." 

"What kind of person would use the Muta-Chem? Mutate humans and let the treatment kill them?" 

"A terrible person. Worse than Daddy ever was. He would never use people that way." 

They were all silent for a few seconds. Nadira's words had struck a nerve with me. In my mind Ransik had been the ultimate evil. I had faced him and failed. For the first time I really thought about the prospect of coming up against someone worse, and wondered if I could meet that challenge. My mood plunged even lower. 

"Can't we talk about something else?" I demanded, more angrily than I should have. 

"Sure," Lucas said with a considering look at me. The others all gave me that same look, and then exchanged a glance that clearly said, 'Humor him.' 

"So, Lucas, how's the racing? Gotten Nadira to try it yet?" Katie asked with conspicuous cheerfulness. 

The two of them looked at each other and laughed. "Not yet," he said. "She's chicken. But I'm working on it." 

"You mean I'm not insane, like you." 

"Insane, am I?" 

"Alex, I hear Rachel's going to demo the new Timeflyers for us next week." 

Startled, I looked up at Trip's expectant face. "Yeah, I guess." 

"Well, how are they? What can they do?" 

I shrugged. "I don't know any more than you do." 

"I thought she would have told you already. You guys seem like such good friends." 

To my horror, I could feel myself blush, and hoped it wasn't visible in the darkened restaurant. "She hasn't said anything to me," I muttered. I could see Trip's face sharpen with curiosity and wondered if it was normal human perception or mutant psychic senses. Fortunately, he dropped it. Almost reflexively I glanced at Jen, to see her watching me, her face carefully blank. 

"Oh good, here's our food," Katie said. 

I busied myself with my plate while trying to calm myself down. After a while the others began to talk again, and we spent the rest of the meal in a buzz of inconsequential small talk. No one spoke to me directly again, leaving me largely to my own rather dismal thoughts. When the dinner was finished it was late, I was grateful when all of us were anxious to leave. 

The others left us at the park outside our residence halls, tactfully giving me some time alone with Jen. Silently we started through the little park that had been the scene of so many important events in my life. Silently we entered Jen's building and slowly walked through the hallways, until we reached her apartment. 

At her door she turned to face me. "I'm sorry about what happened today," she said. 

"Why? It wasn't your fault. You saved my life." 

"But you feel badly about it. It wasn't _your_ fault, either." 

"I suppose." I wasn't convinced. 

"Alex, you're too hard on yourself. Life isn't perfect, and people certainly aren't." 

"I always thought you were." I smiled, slightly and rather bitterly. 

"Don't say that." She looked away from me, obviously upset. "I'm _not_ perfect. You know that better than anyone. I can't live up to that kind of standard." 

"I'm not asking you to live up to anything." I sighed, the disappointments of the day weighing heavily on me. I was torn between the urge to leave and nurse my bad mood in private, and the need to talk. Talking won out, but I didn't feel like discussing it standing in a hallway. "Look, can I come in for a few minutes?" 

"Sure." 

She opened the door and led the way inside. I looked around at the familiar apartment where I had spent so many nights. I had been here since then, of course, but usually for only a few minutes at a time. It felt like an old friend I hadn't seen for a while, bringing back memories almost painful in their intensity. 

"It's been a year now." I wasn't even sure why I said that, but I knew it had been on her mind as she nodded, eyes downcast and lips thinning. 

"Yes. A year." She looked up at me, smiling now, although it didn't reach to her eyes. 

"It's time to forget the past. For both of us." 

"I've… accepted that." 

"Have you? Have you forgotten Wes?" 

She blinked at the name. "You know I'll never forget him. But I've accepted the fact that I'll never see him again. I'm ready to move on." 

"Ready to get on with your life? Our lives?" I stepped closer, rested one hand on her shoulder and lightly touched her cheek with the other. 

"I know this has been hard for you." 

"And you. I can tell you've been unhappy." 

"I want both of us to be happy again..." She looked up at me, her face calm and serious. "But I don't know if this is the right way, Alex. I don't think I can make you happy." 

"You did once. Have things changed so much?" 

"Maybe we've changed." She sighed, turning her face away. "Maybe it's just that too much has happened. Things can never be the same between us again." 

"No, it won't be the same. But it could still be good. We could still be together." I watched the uncertainty on her face. "Don't give up, Jen. It can still work." She faced me again and I put my arms around her, kissing her when she accepted the embrace. 

Was I persisting out of love or out of stubbornness? Did I truly want her then, or was I only unwilling to accept defeat? Did we have any real chance of making each other happy? Or was all of this a mistake? The questions were there, firmly locked away in the back of my mind. Considering how things turned out, I should have listened to them. 

* * *

TBC... 


	10. Best of Worlds

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

This chapter and the next are based on the events of my previous story, 'The Second Time'. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Best of Worlds

* * *

Captain Logan rubbed his chin, staring out at us balefully from behind his desk. The five of us sat quietly, but I could see Trip squirm. I felt like squirming myself. Logan had called this urgent meeting without telling us what it was about, and his expression did not encourage us to ask. 

Finally Rachel and Dagmar walked into the room. Logan nodded at them. Rachel glanced around, catching my eye before taking her seat in the front of the room. I watched the back of her head as Dagmar settled down and Logan fiddled with the papers on his desk before beginning. 

I still felt a pang every time I saw Rachel, still felt guilt, although she had never accused me or appeared to be angry. She had shown her feelings by a very subtle withdrawal, by going out of her way to treat me strictly as a colleague and casual friend, rarely letting our conversations stray from the professional. It seemed to me that somehow she had known when my relationship with Jen had intensified again; a new current of coolness had come into her attitude. 

Sometimes I wondered if it had ever happened, if we had ever been close, emotionally and physically. Sometimes I wished things had been different, that somehow I could regain that closeness. Then I remembered that Jen was the one I loved, the one I had waited for, and struggled for. But there was no real closeness with Jen, even now; she always seemed to keep me figuratively at arm's length. Looking at Rachel, I felt a sharp moment of regret. 

"I called you here for a status report. To tell you we may have a situation." Logan's voice brought me back to more immediate concerns. "I'll let Dagmar brief you." 

Our temporal expert stood and faced us self-consciously. "We've been detecting minor fluctuations in the resonance patterns of the timestream. A ripple echo effect, reflecting disruption on the future side of our corresponding time in…" 

"In English, please," Logan growled. 

"Oh, sorry." She hesitated for a moment, undoubtedly searching for words we ordinary people could understand. "We see signs of interference with history again. Something has set events in motion which have a high probability of disrupting the timestream." 

"Something?" I asked. "What do you mean?" 

"We can't tell what the cause is. But most likely it's someone traveling from our time into the past again. We've also detected traces of unauthorized timeholes." 

"Right," Logan said. "Not very frequent. Never in the same place twice. Whoever it is, is good at covering their tracks." 

"So? What are we going to do about it?" 

He hesitated. "Until we have more information, there's nothing much we _can_ do." 

"We can't send anyone back at this point," Dagmar added. "Too much risk of damaging the timeline ourselves." 

"But be ready. We may need some or all of you to travel into the past again at any moment." 

There was silence. Jen broke it. "What time?" she asked softly. "What time in history are you talking about?" 

I think we all already knew. Certainly I felt no surprise when Logan answered, "2003." 

* * *

I watched Jen, as I did so often these days, seeing her mind wander, as it always seemed to be doing lately. She seemed to be a million miles away. Or perhaps just two hundred years. 

"This isn't working, is it?" 

Her eyes moved to my face with a blink of surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked. 

"This. You and me." 

With a sigh, she said, "I'm trying. I'm just distracted tonight. It was a shock, finding out about -- what's happening." 

I was mildly surprised by how calm I felt. "Jen… You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" 

"This involves him -- of course I thought of him." 

"That's not what I mean. I wish you'd make up your mind. Either forget him, or stop seeing me." 

Her brows furrowed as her eyes slid away from me. She might have pointed out that I was the one who had pursued her, who had insisted on trying again. But all she said was, "I'm sorry. I just need time." 

"It was time that pushed us apart in the first place. And Wes had something to do with it." 

"We thought you were dead. You _were_ dead, until history changed." 

"I know." I looked away. 

"He's in the past, Alex. I know that. It's over." 

"It may not be. We -- or some of us -- may have to go back." 

"I hope not." 

"You want to see him again, don't you?" I asked flatly. 

"No." Her face was unreadable. 

"But what if you have to go? You're one of the obvious choices. How will you feel if you see him again?" 

"Alex..." She shifted in agitation. "Why are you asking me this? I don't want to talk about it. Don't want to think about it." 

I wasn't sure myself, I only knew I couldn't leave it alone. "You'd better consider the possibility. It's starting to look very likely." 

"No. There's no reason I should have to go. Logan said we'd send a small team. Two people. If anyone has to go." 

She was right. There had been more meetings as the timeline disturbance grew worse. Another mission to the past seemed increasingly likely, but it would be kept limited. There was no compelling reason for Jen to be sent on this mission -- unless she wanted it. 

After a moment she spoke again. "I'll tell Logan I don't want to go." 

"If that's what you want." 

"It is. I'm sure." But her eyes avoided mine. 

* * *

A few days later we all stood in the timeship hangar, watching a small flyer being prepared for time travel. Jen and I stood silently, with Katie next to us fidgeting distractedly. I looked at the hard mask of Jen's expression. She had been as good as her word, had turned down the opportunity to go on this mission. Logan hadn't questioned her decision. Lucas and Trip had been selected, and Logan was giving them a final briefing. 

"This is very serious. Indications are that Eric Myers is being removed from history before the proper time." 

I saw Jen's face contract and Katie frown. We were all aware of the implications. Eric was important to the development of Time Force, his absence could mean a realignment of the timestream, whether major or minor we did not yet know. For Jen, Katie, Trip, and Lucas, it was also personal. They had known Eric, he had fought Ransik by their side. All of us were aware of what Logan meant by 'removal'. Someone was going to kill him. 

Logan went on. "Remember, you must minimize your interference. Don't have contact with any inhabitants of 2003 unless absolutely necessary. Prevent Eric's death, recover his morpher and return as quickly as possible." 

That was another problem we were facing. There was also evidence that the Quantum morpher had been taken and used by whoever killed Eric. That morpher was controlled by verbal commands, and would obey only Eric's voice -- unless he released the lock. I wondered briefly how they had managed to force him to do it. From everything I had heard about him, he would die first. 

I glanced at Jen again, wondering what she was thinking. I thought I knew. Would Wes be involved, would he be in danger? Would Lucas and Trip see him? What was he feeling, in our corresponding time, with his friend and partner soon to die? Perhaps she was regretting her decision, wishing it were her boarding that timeship. 

"Good luck. We're counting on you," Logan said, holding out his hand. Lucas shook it, then Trip. They turned to us, exchanging nods and smiles. Katie grabbed Trip in a bear hug that made him squeak in protest. 

"I hope it was the right thing to do, sending only two of them," Logan muttered as the ship's door closed behind them. 

"They can handle it," Katie responded, her face not as confident as her voice. 

* * *

Trip and Lucas called in the next day. I was there for the call, in Logan's office. When I saw their faces I was glad Jen and Katie weren't there. It was quick and concise; communications were difficult because of the worsening disruption of the timestream. 

"Captain Logan, Alex. Good to see you," Lucas said. 

"Good to see both of you. Report." 

"It's not good news. Eric is dead. We found him, got him out, but he died a few minutes later." Trip paused, blinking, obviously upset. "We had to ask Wes for help. We're staying with him." 

Logan chose not to comment. "What about the morpher?" 

"They got it. It's gone. Captain, it's Lorent. He has the morpher, and he's using it." 

I exchanged a glance with Logan. Lorent was the man who had owned the house where I had fought the first Muta-Chem modified human. Now he had surfaced again. He was obviously dangerous, and much more so with the Quantum Ranger powers. 

Lucas went on. "He's teamed up with a guy here named Jonathan Alcott. They've been bringing weapons to this time, and they've been using Muta-Chem. We raided their laboratory, but they got away, along with one of their mutants." 

Logan looked away for a moment, his jaw clenching. "Keep looking," he said finally. "You've got to find Lorent. Stop his interference with the past. Get that morpher back." 

"We're doing our best, sir." 

"I know. Logan out." 

We looked at each other silently. A bad situation had just gotten worse. I watched Logan stand up and walk across the office to his window, his shoulders slumping. My own mood was too dark for me to offer any comfort. 

"It's happening again…" 

I knew what he meant. Our reality was threatened; we faced the end of everything we knew, again. "Ransik failed to change history. Lorent will fail too." 

"We were lucky with Ransik." He turned around, his face shadowed by the light from the window. "Better contact Jen and Katie. See Rachel and have your morphers checked out. Be ready, in case you need to go back." 

"Yes, sir." 

A few minutes later I found myself in Rachel's lab. She was at her computer, intent on her work, as I walked in. I watched her look up at me, her smile warming me before her face became serious. 

"Alex. Logan told me you were coming." 

"Right. Jen and Katie are coming too." I removed my morpher and handed it to her. 

She led me to the test unit and strapped the morpher on a wrist-sized bar inside a transparent cabinet. As she closed the unit door she looked at me again. "How are you doing? Haven't seen you in a while." 

"I know." I glanced away, faintly embarrassed. 

She moved to the controls and began the test sequence. A low hum began to vibrate through the air. "How's Jen?" she asked unexpectedly. "How's it going between you?" 

Now I was definitely embarrassed. I looked at her sharply, but her back was to me, her head bent over the readings on her instrument panel. 

"She's all right. It's been a difficult year for her, adjusting to being back." I paused, again feeling the impulse to confide in her. "It's been hard for her to get over Wes." 

"So I've heard. Not easy on you, either. But you're back together now." 

"Well… I suppose so." 

She threw me an unreadable glance over her shoulder. "You suppose so? What does that mean?" 

"Nothing's the same…" I sighed, not wanting to pursue that subject. "Now we're facing another threat to reality. Everything could end again. Just like the last time." 

I thought I saw her shoulders stiffen slightly. "You'll prevent it." Her voice was slightly muffled, but full of confidence. 

"Maybe." I moved a restless step. "But it'll just keep happening. As long as we have time travel, someone's going to keep trying to use it to make the world over to suit himself. Sooner or later…" 

"I don't believe that. I think we'll always return to this reality." 

"Why? What's special about this timeline?" 

"I suppose…" She turned to face me again. "Maybe it's the best of all possible worlds." 

I couldn't help it, I laughed. She smiled, and then laughed with me. Just for a moment, we shared comfort, just like the last time. "There's an awful lot wrong with this world," I said, still smiling. 

"But there are a lot of good things, too. We've... shared a few of them." There was a spark of -- something -- in her eyes. 

"I wish I'd met you first." I was as surprised as Rachel by my words. I met her eyes and then glanced away. 

"But you didn't. You love Jen." She turned back to her instrument. 

I moved closer, next to her, and sat at the bench. "I don't know anymore. I thought I could make her love me again, but I just can't." When she didn't respond, I laid my fingers on her arm, stroking it gently before taking her hand. 

"Rachel…" 

"Alex, don't." She spoke softly, not looking at me. "I don't want to -- to take Jen's leftovers." 

I pulled my hand back as if I'd been burned, and stood up. 

"I see you got started without us." It was Jen's voice. I turned to see her and Katie coming toward us, both of them looking grim, but Jen with a touch of curiosity in her expression. 

Behind me, Rachel spoke up, becoming brisk and businesslike again. "Alex, your morpher is fine. Jen, Katie, hand them over." 

* * *

A week went by this time, before we heard from Lucas and Trip again. When it came, their message was short and urgent. Logan replayed the recording for me over the office vidcomm when he summoned me. 

They had sent it from their timeship. On the screen, I saw Lucas in the pilot's seat, Trip beside him as co-pilot. Behind them was another man. I recognized him instantly, my stomach lurching at the sight. Lucas spoke as his hands moved over the controls. 

"Captain Logan, we're back. Lorent, Alcott, and Ray -- their mutant -- got away in a timeship, back to our time. They should have arrived about half an hour ago. They still have the Quantum morpher. We just got out of the timehole, we should be landing in a few minutes." 

He paused and looked directly into the screen. "I know it's against orders, but I'll take responsibility. We brought Wes Collins with us." 

* * *

TBC... 


	11. But Not Good Enough

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

This chapter shares plot and some dialogue with my previous story, 'The Second Time'. Sorry if it's a bit disjointed, due to my efforts not to duplicate too much from that story. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Please don't forget to review. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

...But Not Good Enough

* * *

Wes Collins. He had come here. When Jen couldn't go to his time, he had come _here_. Pursuing her. Rationally, I knew there were other reasons for him to be here. He was involved with this, he was a Ranger, he wanted to help us stop Lorent from changing history, Eric had been his friend and he wanted to avenge his death. I took a deep breath and resolved to behave like a Time Force officer, not like a jealous lover. 

Beside me, Jen was pale as death, her lips trembling. I think I knew then, a stab of bitter pain going through me as I saw how the prospect of seeing him affected her. But I ignored it as compassion followed on its heels, and pressed a hand over her shoulder. She looked up at me and tried valiantly to smile. 

"You okay?" 

"I'm fine." 

I let the lie go as Logan strode rapidly into the room, his face set and bleak, Katie right behind him. He passed us and opened the door into the time travel recovery room. We followed him in. 

Inside, they were all standing, looking out the window at Silver City spread below the rise Time Force Headquarters is located on. Lucas and Trip looked up, Trip smiling, Lucas swallowing visibly at the expression on Logan's face. Wes hung back, not even looking at the rest of us, eyes only for Jen, even when Katie threw her arms around him and squeezed. 

Now that the moment had come, Jen was steady as a rock. I was proud of her. She stepped up to Wes, gave him a restrained smile, and hugged him, not reacting when his arms closed around her tightly. I felt a little pity for him then, as his eyes closed, his face contracting in an expression of intense emotion -- pain or joy, I couldn't tell. Probably both. If I ever had any doubt that he loved her too, it was gone now. As Jen moved back I rested a hand on her shoulder again, earning a distinctly hostile glance from him. 

"Sir," Lucas was saying, "I apologize for bringing Wes. We couldn't contact you, and I had to use my own judgment. I take full responsibility." 

"I told Lucas we should bring him," Trip put in. 

"And I insisted on coming," Wes said. 

"Well, it's done now." Logan shot a look at Lucas, a milder one than I had expected. "We'll discuss it later. Now -- Katie, why don't you take Wes to the quarters we've arranged for him. And show him around a little. Meeting in my office in two hours." 

"Great! Come on, Wes." She led him away, only a tightening of his face as he glanced back at Jen showing the disappointment he must be feeling. 

"All right. What happened?" Logan asked as they disappeared through the door. 

Lucas and Trip traded a glance. Trip answered. "After we got to 2003, we spent almost a day trying to locate Eric and the Quantum morpher. We couldn't find a trace until it was activated." His face pinched in distress. "When we detected it, the readings showed the voice lock had been released. Then a few minutes later, the lock was established again, by someone else." 

Lucas took over. "We were up against the new Quantum Ranger then and whoever else was involved. The people who had managed to kidnap Eric and force him to give up the morpher. I made the decision to contact Wes for help." 

Logan only nodded. Trip continued the story. "We went to his house. All three of us attacked the underground lab where Lorent had taken Eric. We fought our way in, found Lorent. He was morphed. He had Ray, the mutant they made with the Muta-Chem, with him. We fought both of them, but they got away, with Alcott, and flew off in their timeship. We stayed to find Eric." A shaky breath. "He was there. Captain -- they used a mindstrainer on him." 

Logan and Jen looked shocked. I'm sure I did too. The mindstrainer was an illegal device used to weaken the will, usually to forcibly extract information. An instrument of torture, with the added feature of destroying the mind, damaging the brain, and usually killing the victim in the end. 

"Oh, God. Poor Eric," Jen murmured. "We were never exactly friends. He wasn't easy to get along with. But he was always there when we needed him. Always willing to risk his life to help others." 

We were all quiet for a moment. "That's a good epitaph," Logan said quietly. 

Lucas started to speak again. "After that, all we could do was wait and watch for the morpher to be activated again. It took a week. Then it happened during Eric's funeral. We all went after them, found them in a cabin in the woods, outside Silver Hills. Fought them again. They got away, took off in their timeship and opened a timehole. By the time we could get back to our ship, they were long gone." 

Logan seemed to shake off the unhappy mood that had descended on us. He straightened and said, "All right. Get some rest. See you in my office in two hours." He started off, the rest of us trailing after. 

At the door Jen stopped, looking indecisive. I stopped beside her. 

"Jen -- are you all right?" 

"I'll be fine." She glanced at me, her eyes distant. "I'll see you later." 

"Want company?" 

"Sorry. Not right now." 

"I understand. See you at the briefing." 

With a last absent smile, she walked away. Not in the direction of her building, her apartment. Towards the Time Force guest apartments, where Wes had been put. 

* * *

Two hours later I watched Wes as he told all of us about Ray, Lorent's latest manufactured mutant. An eerie feeling, looking into that mirror of my own face. We had exchanged another glance as he came into Logan's office, a glance filled with suppressed hostility, the age-old jealous anger between two men who wanted the same woman. 

"I know Alcott supervised TransGenics' mutation experiments. And Ray seems to be a result of one of those experiments. Ray doesn't even know he's a mutant. I think he's not very smart." 

"What method were they using to create mutations?" 

We listened as Wes described what was obviously Muta-Chem, the same treatment that had created the mutant who had died fighting me. Ray wasn't the first of his kind they had encountered, Lorent and his friends in 2003 had done it before, creating mutants who had eventually turned against them, and helped Wes and Eric. 

Then all our ears pricked up when he told us Bio-Lab had found a way of stabilizing their DNA. We all were aware of the possible consequences of Lorent being able to create an army of mutants who would not die in a few weeks or months. They had discovered that the Venomark serum, used to treat poisoning victims years ago, had also worked on the artificial mutants, keeping them healthy. 

Logan took us all in with a glance. "We've got to stop Lorent here. He has the Quantum morpher now. If he gets away, back to the past again, we may not be able to prevent him from causing serious changes. He's already done significant damage. We have to stop it now." A moment later, the briefing over, we were leaving. 

I called Wes back. He turned to face me as the door closed behind Jen, his expression resentful. 

"What is it?" There was an edge in his voice. 

"I guess you don't much like me." 

"I… it's nothing personal." 

"Just that you're still in love with Jen, and I've been seeing her again." Wes looked away from me. "I know this is hard on you. Especially after losing your friend. I wish there was some way to make it easier. But there isn't." 

"In other words, I should just grow up. Act like an adult. Get on with my life, like Jen said." The anger was more obvious now. 

"Well… I wouldn't have put it like that. But yes. I can understand how you feel…" 

"No, you can't! You're the one who's with her now. I guess you feel pretty good." 

The thoughtlessness of that remark brought out my own anger. "Try having your fiancée come back, hand you your ring, and tell you she's fallen in love with someone else. Then maybe you'll know how _I_ felt." 

"Maybe you're afraid she'll change her mind again." His voice was spiteful now. 

"What does that mean?" 

"Just what it sounds like. It's been over a year, and you're not even engaged again. Maybe _you're_ the one who's jealous." 

I stared at him, furious, unable to believe _he_ was attacking _me_. "You stupid bastard," I retorted. "Hasn't it gotten through to you that I have much more right to be angry than you do? You're the one who broke up our engagement. You're the reason we're not married right now." With an effort, I controlled myself, and said what I had intended to say in the first place. "Look, we're involved with a vital mission. Any conflict, even with a temporary team member like you, could be a problem. And we can't afford problems, not now. As leader, I need to be sure we can work together." 

"I don't remember signing up for any team. And I sure don't remember making _you_ leader." He looked and sounded like an angry, sulky child. 

Anger getting the better of me, I lashed out again. "I have to know if we can count on you. I don't want this mission jeopardized by a childish, jealous fool!" 

Wes glared at me, face flaming with hatred. "Why couldn't you have stayed dead?" he shouted. He whirled, almost ran to the door, and slammed out. 

I took a few minutes before following, struggling with my own temper. Wes was a self-centered idiot who couldn't control himself. But what was my excuse? I had only made things worse. 

* * *

I avoided Jen for a while after that. The one time we saw each other, for a workout, ended in an argument. I could no longer trust my own temper where she or Wes were involved. For the first time, I began to wonder if it was over, if it was time to give up. 

Then came the call I had been dreading, the call to go into action, to forget my problems with Jen and Wes and work alongside them. The Quantum morpher had been activated. Lorent had been located. It was up to us to stop him, here and now. Time to forget our differences, time to be Rangers. 

Jen and I took our seats in a small Time Force fighter flyer, our eyes meeting for a moment. All of the troubles between us, all of the betrayal -- on both sides -- all the hurt feelings, all the guilt, and yet -- here we were, working together. And, I realized, that was exactly as it should be. I saw her glance at me, and saw how uncomfortable she was. 

"We're teammates, Jen." I said softly. "We'll always have that, no matter what. We can work out our problems after this is over." 

She nodded and smiled. Seconds later we were in the air, sweeping out a path over Time Force HQ. I glanced down at the sprawl of buildings, spotting the ones we lived in, and the small park between them. 

Then we were high over Silver City. It glittered in the sun, towers reaching up to us, streets and parks laid out below. So many people down there, blissfully unaware of the fragility of their lives. A pang went through me. So much depended on us. 

"It'll take us a few minutes to get there," I said, my voice tense. "It may be too late." 

"The others were closer. They were taking a tour." 

Showing Wes the sights, she meant. Luckily they had happened to be close to where the Quantum morpher was. That was something constructive Wes had done. I increased our flyer's speed. It seemed to take forever, but only a few minutes later we were in sight of a battle. 

It was over a wooded area in the mountains, a small cabin visible below. I saw people on the ground, apparently fighting. But what claimed my immediate attention was the aerial battle over them. A recreational flyer was being fired on by a small battle craft which I recognized as the TF Eagle, the Quantum Ranger's personal flyer, now being controlled by Lorent. There was no real contest, the larger, unarmed flyer was already trailing smoke. It faltered and descended rapidly. 

We dove as the Eagle continued the attack. It swerved back up and began to fire at us. We circled, I dodged the blasts as Jen hastily brought up the weapons systems and began to return fire. In moments the tables were turned, and the Eagle was outgunned. It looped above us and fled rapidly. 

We pursued, accelerating after them, shooting through the clear blue sky, energy blasts stitching the air between us. The Eagle was built for speed, and for combat, but so was our flyer. It became a race, and in seconds I knew we were losing. 

"Damn it!" I shouted, banging a fist on the cockpit panel as he pulled away from us, now beyond the range of our weapons. "Damn, damn, damn!" 

"Alex, calm down!" Jen was staring at me. 

"That was Lorent! He got away, again! Do you know what this means?" I clamped down on my rage and frustration as I sent us sweeping back to our teammates, thinking bitterly of the trail of bodies left by Lorent. The unidentified mutant I had fought in his house. The second dead mutant, found discarded in an alleyway. Eric. Add all of us, our world, our reality, if we couldn't stop them. And now... 

"Of course I know. We'll deal with it. _Never_ give up." 

Caught by surprise, I smiled. My own words, come back to bite me. But she was right. Then my anger returned as we again came in sight of the cabin. I saw a timeship lifting off from the woods behind it, already too far away to catch, rapidly receding into the distance. "Damn it," I said, more quietly this time. "They'll probably go back to 2003 again now. Try to finish what they started." 

"I know. And we'll be ready to follow them." 

* * *

"Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy time trip." 

The others smiled at Lucas's words. Some in-joke, from their stay in 2001, no doubt. I had no desire to ask. I was sitting next to Lucas in the co-pilot's seat, Jen and Katie behind us, Wes and Trip in the last row. I could hear them talking quietly, Trip going over it again. I ran through it in my own mind, my nerves jumping. 

Lorent and Alcott had escaped to the past again, opening an unauthorized timehole that our instruments had picked up. They had the Quantum morpher, and might be able to duplicate it. They had the mutating treatment. They had found out from Eric about the serum that would allow their manufactured mutants to survive. They could build an unstoppable army of them. Already the change was happening, the past was distorting again. The timestream was already too disturbed for normal travel. 

It was my first time jump, and it wasn't even a normal one. Because of the quantum nature of time travel, under most conditions we could only jump for certain fixed distances. When going back to 2003, we went back an exact amount of time, about ninety-nine years and a few months, down to the microsecond. When returning, we would travel the same 'distance', always coming back to our exact corresponding time. But not now. 

Now, the timestream was very strongly disturbed, which meant we could break that law of nature, and make a non-standard jump, going back an extra ten days, arriving before Eric had been captured by Lorent and Alcott. That meant we could prevent his death, prevent Lorent from getting the morpher and finding out about the serum. It also meant the trip would be rough, to put it mildly. We were in a new ship, an experimental model, made to be strong enough to withstand the stress. A gamble, with our lives as the stakes. But a necessary one. 

I listened to Trip telling Wes what to expect. Reality could not endure the same person existing in two places at the same time. When we emerged from the timehole in 2003, he would disappear from our ship and instantly replace his former self, at home, in bed. If we didn't make it safely down, he would have to save Eric on his own. 

Whatever I thought of Wes, I had to admit he was brave. He had shown no fear, just the desire to save his friend's life, and prevent the destruction of our time. He deserved my respect for that. He lived up to the standards of a Ranger. 

We lifted off, rising smoothly into the sky. A beam stabbed from the ship, opening the timehole. It looked bluer than normal, an effect of its non-standard nature. Lucas accelerated, and then we were in it, my hands gripping the arms of my seat as we were caught up in a swirl of color, buffeted by the energies pouring around us. 

The ship shuddered, I lost all orientation of up and down as gravity seemed to go wild and we shook, vibrated, and jerked. The forces slammed at us viciously, perhaps resenting our invasion. My stomach rebelled, I hung on as best I could, sickeningly bright colors seemed to penetrate the hull and sparkle through the air. A white light appeared before us, coming closer with terrifying rapidity. 

"Hang on, we're coming out!" Lucas shouted. 

"Good Luck, Wes!" I heard Trip say behind me. 

Then we were out, shooting into a normal sky so fast that we slammed into the air itself with a shuddering impact. I could see Lucas fighting the controls, trying to stabilize the ship as we vibrated and then turned nose up, rising abruptly higher. Then we slowed, and were falling. Lucas managed to bring the nose down. We leveled off frighteningly close to the ground, still going too fast. I sighed in relief as we slowed, and turned, now under control. 

Lucas brought us down for a landing on the beach. It was dark, and quiet after he powered the ship down. I could hear the others start to stir. 

"Is everyone all right?" I asked, my voice still unsteady. A glance back showed that Wes had disappeared, as expected. 

"Yeah. Wow, some ride," Katie answered. 

"Lucas, that was incredible. Great job," Jen said. 

"Yes, good work." I nodded to Lucas, then moved to the door. "Let's get the flyers out. We've still got a job to do." 

* * *

Wes contacted us, and told Jen he was meeting Eric, who was on his way to his fatal encounter with Lorent. It was up to us to make sure events turned out differently this time. It was a fast trip in our flyers -- no chance to think about the fact that I was in another _time_ -- in the past, for the first time -- and in moments we coming down, seeing Wes and Eric with a troop of Silver Guardians. I watched them as we approached, Wes hugging Eric, to his obvious surprise. Again I felt an unwilling liking for Wes, who seemed to care so much for his friend. Then we were off the flyers, and walking towards them. We demorphed as Eric greeted us with a glare. 

"What are _you_ doing here? Will someone tell me what the _hell_ is going on?" he demanded. 

"Simple," Wes said. "The first time this night happened, you had a fight in the warehouse with Alcott and this jerk from the future, Lorent, and a mutant named Ray. They captured you, and took you to their secret base, and hooked you up to this sort of mental torture machine. You ended up releasing the voice lock on the Quantum morpher, and telling them about the serum. Lucas and Trip showed up, and we found you but you died. We chased them into the future, but they got away, and they were going to change history and screw everything up, so we came back to tonight, to do it over again, keep you from getting killed, and keep all of it from happening." 

Eric stared at him. "_What?_" 

"All of this happened before-" 

"I heard you. That's crazy." 

"I swear it's true. Ask Trip or Lucas." 

"I was _dead_?" 

"Dead as a doornail." Wes grinned again. "We had a very nice funeral for you." 

Eric glared at all of us again, suspiciously. "It's still crazy, but I guess it must be true, or _they_ wouldn't be here, all grinning at me like that. So... what now?" 

To my surprise, Wes turned to me. "Alex? You're in command." 

I recovered and answered, my respect for him reluctantly rising another notch. "Right. Thanks. Wes and I will go with Eric. The rest of you, go with the Guardians. That okay with you, Wes?" 

"Sure is." 

* * *

After that it was easy. The three of us rode to the warehouse on Eric's TF Eagle, with Wes and me crouching on the wings while Eric piloted. We set down quietly on the roof, opened a trapdoor, and took the enemy by surprise as the other Rangers and the Silver Guardians attacked from the other side. 

Up against seven Rangers and a troop of Guardians, our enemies were overwhelmed, and they knew it. I spotted Lorent running for the timeship and started after him, as Wes took off after Alcott. The others had arrived, Lucas joined me as we reached the ship, barely forcing our way in as Lorent tried to close the door. 

Then it was over, we were dragging Lorent out, Wes was shoving Alcott in our direction, Eric was standing over an unconscious Ray, the Guardians were rounding up the rest of them. I stepped back and demorphed, watching Wes, Eric and the Guardians take charge, suddenly realizing this was it, we had won. It almost seemed too fast and easy, rather anticlimactic. Then I turned at the sound of Jen's voice. 

"We did it," she said. "Saved Eric, prevented a major change in history, captured Lorent." 

"Yes, a pretty good night's work." I took another look at her face. "What's wrong?" 

"This probably isn't the right time..." 

"But I already know, don't I?" 

"Yes." She took a breath. "Seeing Wes again -- you were right about me. Alex, I'm sorry. You've always been so good to me. If I had any sense, I'd marry you tomorrow. But I still love Wes." 

"I've been expecting this." I felt surprisingly little, only a lurking bitterness. 

"I know. All of this hasn't been fair to you." 

"No, it hasn't. You should never have started seeing me again." 

"I'm sorry," she said again. 

"I'll live." And maybe I had no right to be angry. I was the one who had wanted to get back together, who had refused to give up, the one who had kept pushing. The one who hadn't been entirely honest. 

I saw her swallow back tears. "I don't blame you for being angry. I hope someday you'll forgive me." 

"I'll get over it. But you -- you'll have to leave him again." 

"I know." As I looked past her, I saw Wes, watching us. 

"Go on and talk to him," I said softly. "Spend the time you have together." 

"Alex..." 

The bitterness, the frustration, came out one last time. "Just don't try to come back to me, when you're alone again." After another look, I walked away. 

* * *

I stayed in the Silver Guardians' barracks for the next ten days, as we waited out the time before we could go home without arriving before we had left. The others stayed at Wes's house. I didn't blame them, but I felt a little -- abandoned. To my surprise, Eric went out of his way to play host, spending time with me, taking me around the city, trying to keep me amused or at least distracted. I think he felt sorry for me. I also think he felt left out of the close relationship Wes shared with his former teammates, and of course with Jen. 

We interrogated Lorent, without much useful result. From what he didn't say, as much as what he said, it seemed obvious that he had confederates in our time. In fact, he was amazingly loyal to whoever they were, perhaps out of fear. Trip thought he was working for the Mystery Mutant. A disturbing idea, but it made sense. Ransik said our unknown enemy could command that kind of loyalty from his followers. 

Now we were leaving. Saying goodbye. All of us stood on the beach near our timeship. I watched Wes hug Katie, Lucas, and Trip. Jen stood a little distance away, her face barely controlled. I could imagine what she was going through. I had felt something like it. 

"Love's a funny thing. Some people can't control it. It's not their fault things turned out like this." Eric's voice came from beside me. 

I glanced at his hard face, now with faint sympathy on it. "Have you ever been in love?" I asked. 

He smiled slightly. "I thought so, a couple of times. But -- no. Not like that. Don't think I ever will. Not worth it, if it turns out bad." 

"I don't know about that." I surprised myself by saying it. "Just to have had that feeling, for a while -- I don't regret it." Wes was waiting now. I turned and held out my hand to Eric. "Goodbye. It was a pleasure to meet you." 

"Thanks. Goodbye, and good luck." 

Then Jen and I were walking to Wes. Whatever anger I still felt for him disappeared as I saw the expression on his face. Jen hung back as I shook hands with him. 

"Listen, I'm sorry for what I said. About wishing you stayed dead. You were right, I was pretty childish." 

I smiled. "I can easily imagine how I'd feel in your place. I don't know if I would have handled it any better. Maybe worse." 

Wes's eyes met mine. "I doubt that. You were right, too, that you're the one who should be angry at me. I'm sorry about what happened, Jen and you breaking up. I guess you're right to blame me." 

"Maybe I did blame you, at first. But both Jen and I changed, that year she was in your time. I guess it wasn't meant to be. To tell the truth, knowing it's finally over is a relief. But I'm sorry things can't work out for you and her." 

"I appreciate that." Wes looked at Jen. "I hope you'll still be her friend. Take care of her for me." 

"Always. Goodbye, Wes, and thanks for your help." I went to the ship, and turned back to watch them for a moment. Strangely, the sight of them hugging didn't bother me as much as the misery on both their faces. 

I frowned slightly. For once I was having a feeling, and it wasn't good. Our real enemy was still out there, still unknown, probably still determined to change the past in order to change our time. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. 

* * *

TBC... 


	12. Unacceptable Losses

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Based on the events of my previous story 'Time Over', and uses a little of the same dialogue. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Unacceptable Losses

* * *

"I don't know, Alex. It's like now I see it, now I don't. It's strange." Trip looked up at me from his seat in his office at Time Force HQ. Finding no answers in my face, he glanced at Jen, then back at me. 

"What does it mean?" 

There was frustration on his own face. "I don't know. That's what I'm telling you. It doesn't make any sense." 

I frowned. Jen had brought this to my attention. She said all of the temporal scientists were complaining. There were disturbances in the timestream, but not the kind we had experienced before. These seemed to be minor. But the disturbing part was the way they seemed to change or disappear when our scientists tried to analyze them. Even Dagmar was stumped. 

Jen and I exchanged a glance. I nodded. "Come on," I said. "Let's see Logan." 

We headed down the corridor together, not talking. Things had been a little strained between us since we had returned from 2003 two months before. We both had reason to feel guilty, and Jen still thought I was angry. To my own surprise, I wasn't. To tell the truth, I wasn't sure of what I felt, only that I was relieved to have it over at last. I was starting to think I should have given up on winning her back a long time ago, that in fact it had been more about winning than about love. 

I had even told her about Rachel, only a few days ago. She had taken it well, better than I had expected, listening calmly, eyes downturned as I told her. 

"It was just one night. And only because we thought it was the end of everything. But it was still a mistake." 

"Was it?" She looked up at me, eyes bright. "With the way things turned out, maybe not. You should have kept seeing her." 

"No. I had no way of knowing then about you and Wes. I had no business being with Rachel." 

"And you got so angry at _me_ for being unfaithful..." I couldn't quite tell if she was teasing or genuinely annoyed. 

"Well... that was different. Or I thought so at the time." 

"Why didn't you tell me before?" 

I shrugged uncomfortably. "Probably should have. Guess I was ashamed. Didn't know how you'd react." 

"You and Rachel. I always thought she liked you." She gave me a sidelong glance. "I was even a little jealous... Are you going to ask her out now?" 

"I don't know... not sure how I feel. And I haven't given her much reason to _want_ to go out with me." 

Jen had smiled at that. "Not giving up, are you? Give it a try, you might be surprised..." 

My thoughts returned to the present and our immediate problem as we entered Logan's office and sat down. I handed him the reports I brought with us on the timestream anomalies, saying, "Captain Logan, we'd like you to take a look at this." 

"Strange. What do you make of it?" 

I shrugged. "I don't know, at this point. Something's going on. It needs more investigation." 

"Theories?" 

Jen answered him. "I've never seen anything like this before. We can measure the disruptions -- but then the computer analysis shows nothing, or contradictory results. I'm starting to think something's wrong in our computer systems." 

Logan looked both alarmed and thoughtful. "The computer systems are self-correcting. It should be impossible for them to go wrong, at least without the diagnostics notifying the operators." 

"Theoretically, yes. But..." 

I backed her up. "Jen could be right. I think it's worth looking into." 

"All right. Talk to the computer operations team. Ask them to check it out." 

"Yes, sir." 

In the hallway, we turned to each other. Jen should be the one to handle this, and she might be more comfortable working with someone else. There was someone I wanted to see anyway. "Why don't you take Lucas and check it out?" I said. 

"All right." She started to turn away, and then turned back with a smile. "Thanks for your help, Alex." 

"Anytime." I watched her walk down the hall, before turning away. 

* * *

I watched Rachel for a while, bent over her workbench, concentrating on her instruments. _Just like Jen,_ something said inside me. But she wasn't, not really. She had the same dedication and determination I had loved in Jen, but she also had a softer quality, something more vulnerable. 

_'Had loved?'_ I wondered. The thought had come so naturally. I still loved Jen, didn't I? But the old longing was blunted now. I still loved her, but not in the same way. It was over, truly over, and I was ready to move on. The realization came suddenly, like a revelation, as I looked at Rachel. 

Perhaps I made some sound, or movement. She looked up and saw me, and smiled. I walked in and found a chair to sit on, and smiled back. 

"Alex. How are you?" 

"Fine. And you?" 

"Good." 

"Have you heard about what the other scientists are saying about the timestream monitoring? That something's wrong?" 

"Of course. I've seen it too. Discrepancies, signs of disruption, but they seem to disappear when we try to analyze them." 

"That's what Trip said. Jen thinks it's the computer systems." 

She frowned. "That makes sense... If it's true, it has to be corrected right away." 

"Jen's working on it." 

Another frown, and a sharp look. "You know, the diagnostics should pick up any problem in the computers. If they didn't -- or if the technicians didn't act on it -- we have a real problem." 

"You're right." Casting about for something more to say, I asked the obvious. "What are you working on?" 

"The new flyers. Modifying them so you can call them with the morphers, like the TF Eagle." 

"Sounds good. I kind of envied Eric his flyer." 

"What's he like? Eric? I've heard so much about him, of course." 

I shrugged and smiled again. "I can't say I really got to know him. He's not really outgoing. But while I was there, he went out of his way to be nice." 

"And Wes? If you don't mind talking about him." 

"I don't mind. He's actually a pretty nice guy. I didn't spend much time with him." I paused. "He was with Jen most of the time." 

She turned her face back to her work. "She was... with him?" 

"Yes." I leaned forward. "It's really over between us. For good." 

"I won't pretend I'm sorry to hear it." She was still looking at her bench, away from me. 

I fidgeted for a moment and then got it out. "Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?" 

Her sharp eyes were on me again. "I… I don't know." 

"You don't know? What does that mean?" 

"Alex, I'll be honest. I like you. Very much." 

I smiled. "That's good, isn't it? I like you, too." 

"But frankly -- I don't want to get involved with you. Not yet." 

"Why?" But I suspected the answer. 

"You say you're over Jen. But how do I know it's true?" When I started to speak she held up a hand to stop me. "I know, you think it's over. But you were in love with her for years. She's still alone, now. What if she changes her mind, and wants you back?" 

"I don't think she will." 

"What if you change _your_ mind? Right now you're still hurt, and lonely." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said to you before. That was mean. But I still don't think it would be a good idea. Not as long as you're on the rebound." 

"Rachel, I _know_… I can feel it…" 

"Maybe. Give it some time." 

"Time. Jen used to say the same thing." Frustration stirred me, bringing me to my feet. 

Rachel stood up, too, and came closer, staring into my face, reading my expression. I was surprised at her intensity. "You've waited a long time for Jen. Don't you think _I'm_ worth waiting for, too?" 

"Well, of course. But -- can't we at least see each other? I mean outside of work?" 

"Just as friends?" 

"Oh, God." She smiled as I sighed. "All right. Friends. But…" 

"But what?" 

"But I can hope for more, can't I?" I smiled and raised a hand to caress her cheek, leaning closer. "Like just a kiss now and then..." 

Her eyes held mine as we came together, then closed as we kissed. It was gentle at first, hesitant, I touched her lips and then backed off, but a moment later I had her in my arms, and the kiss was passionate. The intensity of my desire and her response startled me, and I let her go and stepped back. She blinked at me, looking dazed. 

"I can wait," I said, not too steadily. "But... I hope it won't be for long." 

"Alex… I…" 

_"Alex?"_

Jen's voice came from my morpher, confusing me for a moment. With an apologetic look at Rachel, I raised it and answered. "Yes, Jen." 

_"I'm in Trip's office. You'd better get over here."_ Her voice was urgent. 

"Rachel..." 

"Go on. I'll still be here when you get back." 

I got over there. The whole team was waiting, Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie. Jen started talking the moment I was through the door. 

"We went to the computer department. Took a little while to get any cooperation. Then we spoke to the tech in charge of the temporal analysis systems. His name is Klezmi. He checked out all his systems right in front of us, found nothing. Lucas and I still thought something was wrong, so we came here and asked Trip to take a look." 

Trip took over. "The programs have been altered, so they won't show the effects of timestream disruption. All the alerts have been disabled. The correct information is still being produced, but it's only being sent to one user." 

"Klezmi," Jen said grimly. 

"Right. He's the only one who knew the real situation. Until now." 

"And what _is_ the real situation?" I asked. 

Trip turned back to his screen. "Events have been put in motion which will make a major alteration of history. The target is 2003 again, and Bio-Lab." He glanced at Jen. "I've found indications of another attack by mutants. There's one description. It sounds like Conwing." 

Conwing, one of Ransik's mutant confederates. And I remembered something that had been in one of my recent daily briefings. "Conwing and Steelix escaped from custody a few weeks ago. With help from the outside." 

"From the evidence here…" Trip took a deep breath. "In the new timeline, Wes, Eric, and Mr. Collins were all murdered. Bio-Lab merged with another company, which took over management. Years later, the Silver Guardians became Time Force, just like in our reality, but they're different… Our instruments can pick up some of it, and I can sense more... I see mutants forced to live in camps, and signs of war, and discrimination, and Time Force taking over the government. And I see Klezmi, he's in control. That's why he's done this, somehow he knows how to put himself in power in the new timeline." 

"But the effects of changes in history are unpredictable -- just look what happened when Ransik tried it. How can Klezmi know how reality will change?" 

Trip shrugged, his eyes wide. "I don't know." 

"How long do we have?" 

"A few hours, maybe. It's almost too late." 

"Can you restore the correct programming?" 

"I already have. Just have to activate it." 

"Do it. We have to see Captain Logan, and take off for 2003 immediately." 

Trip stopped short as we reached the door and turned back to Jen and Lucas. "What does Klezmi look like?" he asked. 

"What? He's tall, big, dark hair…" Jen said. "Why?" 

"The Mystery Mutant. The man we fought in that office building." Trip's voice was low, but utterly confident. As we all stared, he started out again. 

With the temporal analysis programming restored to normal, alarms were suddenly going off all over Time Force. As we raced down the corridors towards Logan's office, scientists and officers began to run out of labs and offices, panic on their faces. I saw Logan himself charge out of his door just before we reached it. He caught sight of us. 

"You know the situation?" he asked. 

"Yes. We're ready to go." 

"Your ship's being prepared. Hurry! Stop them before it's too late!" 

"Let's go!" I shouted. 

We ran, pelting out of the main office building, dashing across a small park, into the hangar building where our ship was waiting. We saw it, a swarm of maintenance personnel still preparing it for takeoff. They finished disconnecting their equipment a moment after we arrived and withdrew to a safe distance. 

We got inside and took our seats, Lucas piloting, of course, Trip, Katie, and myself behind him, Jen in the back at the weapons control seat. Lucas powered up the ship, his hands moving swiftly and expertly over the controls. As the flyer hummed to life he glanced over his shoulder. 

"Ready? Here we go!" 

He engaged the engine. There was a flash, a roar, heat and impact. I don't remember everything. The world seemed to explode into fire and pain. I heard screaming, from all of us, and Jen -- I could hear her voice, filled with agony, the voice of someone dying. 

* * *

There was blankness until I opened my eyes again, and looked up at the hangar roof. I was lying on the floor, there were people running around me, shouts filling the air. As I raised my head and tried to sit up, I saw the flyer a few meters away, a mass of flaming wreckage. I remember wondering how we could have gotten out of that alive. 

Then it occurred to me to wonder if all of us _had_ gotten out. I looked around, seeing Lucas, Katie, and Trip laid out near me. Lucas was moaning, a hand to his head, Katie was sitting up, looking as dazed as I felt. Trip appeared to be unconscious, or dead. There was no sign of Jen. 

All I knew was that I had to find her. I actually made it to my feet, and staggered a few steps toward the flyer. Hands closed on my arms, pulling me back. I tried to struggle, but I was weak, and then the pain started, and everything went blank again. 

* * *

The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the Time Force infirmary. I could still feel pain, but it was muted and indistinct. In the strange calmness enforced by the painkillers they had given me, I stared up at the ceiling, feeling only mildly curious about why I was there. After a few seconds it started to come back. The mission. The explosion. My eyes moved around until they found a face, a woman's face, shadowed. 

"Jen?" I asked. It came out as only a slurred mumble. 

"Alex? It's Rachel." She bent over me, smiling, but her eyes were red and puffy. 

"What…" 

"You were in an explosion. Someone planted a bomb in your timeship. You were burned and have some injuries from the concussion, but you'll be fine." 

"Jen…" 

Her brows contracted, her lips trembling. "Lucas, Katie, and Trip are all right, Alex. I'm sorry, but Jen didn't make it." 

"Didn't make it…" I didn't feel much, thanks to the drugs, at least not consciously. But I felt the tears sting as they trickled over burned skin, until I closed my eyes and retreated into sleep. 

* * *

I stirred, half-conscious, and heard myself cry out in some forgotten dream. Waking, I saw movement, and looked up into Rachel's face, bending over me. She looked tired and worn, as if she had just been awakened. She must have been sleeping in her chair, watching over me. Just as she had always been there when I needed her. 

"Rachel." My voice was stronger than I expected. "Where's Logan? And the others?" 

She blinked at me. "Logan's at home, I suppose. Lucas, Trip, and Katie are here in the infirmary, recovering." 

"Jen's dead, isn't she?" 

She laid a soft hand on mine. "Yes. She was closer to the explosive. She must have died almost instantly. We... haven't even found a body." 

I felt tears sting again, saw them blur my vision, and tried to push the grief away. "I have to see Logan." 

She frowned. "You'll be better soon. We're using an accelerated healing treatment on all of you. You can talk to Logan when you're up to it." 

I closed my eyes. Accelerated healing would get us back on our feet quickly, but that was why I felt so sleepy, it knocked us out for days while our bodies repaired themselves, that was how it worked… We didn't have days, we needed to go… "We have to go back…" I mumbled as sleep began to drift back over my mind. "Back to 2003…" 

"Alex, we can't. Your ship was destroyed. Our other ships have been sabotaged. We don't have any working timeships now." 

That kept me awake for another few seconds. "What can we do?" 

"Nothing." 

"But… Klezmi… he sent them back there. Conwing. They're going to change history… Wes and Eric…" 

"I know, Alex." 

"It's happening again, isn't it? End of the world…" 

Her voice came softly as my eyes closed, only a faint tremor of fear in it. "Just sleep. It'll be all right." 

I was hazy with sleep. "End of the world... and we're together again... Rachel..." 

"Yes. I'm here. It's all right." 

Her voice almost took away the fear. I slept. And the world ended again. 

* * *

TBC... 


	13. Traitor

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Covers the same events as my previous story 'Time Over', and shares a little dialogue with it. 

Please review, it keeps me going. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

Traitor

* * *

_My name is Alex. Alex. My name is Alex…_

On my knees in that huge, dim space, black and silver uniforms crowding around me, I looked up into the face of death. She smiled, coldly, and said softly, "Traitor!" Raised the blaster and aimed it at my head. They say your life passes in front of your eyes when you know you're about to die. 

I may seem to be a traitor, but I'm not. Not really. Not to the people who count, the people who deserve my loyalty. I was trying to help, trying to do the right thing, for everyone. And I did, I sacrificed everything, for Jen, for Time Force -- the real Time Force -- for everyone. 

The dreams... they started weeks ago, crowding into my mind, dreams of different worlds, different lives. I dreamed of a better Time Force, one I had been proud to work for. I dreamed of a mission I gone on with Jen, Lucas, Trip, and Katie. But none of it had happened, not in my timeline. In my world Time Force was only a tool for Klezmi to grab power. 

I'm not sure when I realized I was in another alternate reality, that the world I lived in was no more than a lie dreamed up by a madman. Maybe it came to me slowly, or maybe I just woke up one day and the knowledge was there. I knew, knew Klezmi had changed the past to create this mockery of a world. And Jen and Lucas knew, I was sure of it. I was right. They were already trying to change it back. 

Jen wouldn't listen to reason, she didn't trust me anymore. I looked in those warm brown eyes that had once sparkled just for me, and saw cold dislike. I saw Trip and Katie, once my teammates, looking at me with something like fear in their eyes. They would never believe my warnings, never believe that I was on their side, that I was already taking steps to accomplish what they were trying to do. 

I remembered standing in the large, luxurious office Klezmi occupied as director of Time Force, his dark, intent face staring at me. Those eyes, that seemed to be able to see inside my head. Small, silver-haired Silva, his right-hand woman, in her usual place standing at his side. 

"I've detected suspicious activity by two of my subordinates. Jen and Lucas. They've been investigating historical periods outside of their assigned areas. I suspect they've been in contact with the mutants they went on the 2001 mission with. Trip and Katie." I could hear my own voice as if it belonged to someone else, betraying my friends. 

"We know," Silva answered, as Klezmi continued to bore through my skull with his gaze. "We've been watching them. Collecting the evidence we need. Don't worry, they'll be taken care of." She smiled, that cold smile. 

It was no surprise, I had known they were watching Jen and Lucas. As they watched all of us. I hadn't told them anything they didn't already know. But maybe if they believed me to be loyal… 

"Jen and Lucas are not traitors to Time Force. They're only doing this because of Trip and Katie. They're being influenced." 

Klezmi spoke for the first time, in his familiar deep voice. "They must be punished." 

"Then let me handle it. Jen and Lucas are good officers. Valuable to Time Force. I'll make sure they get the punishment they deserve, and nothing like this will happen again. I'll help you... Give evidence. Lead the arrest squad... Just leave Jen and Lucas to me..." 

"All right." Klezmi smiled. "We'll trust you to handle it." 

I believed him. I should have known better, but I did what they wanted. Even gave the order to arrest Trip and Katie. Saw the pain of betrayal in their faces. But they weren't the only ones betrayed. The arrest squad was only supposed to take Trip and Katie, the mutants. They were supposed to leave Jen and Lucas for me. But I watched, helpless, as they were all arrested. Now, in my mind I could still hear the squad leader's mocking words. 

"They'll get a fair hearing. Then you can attend the execution if you want." 

I visited them; I remembered standing with my back to the guards while I got out the blaster I had smuggled, Jen's face as she watched, a flicker of surprise, quickly hidden. My clever Jen. I stunned the guards, we broke free. Then a nightmare of running, trying to find our way out… Instead we found _her_, again, silver hair and cold smile, confronting us with one of her guards. The flash of blaster fire, Trip falling to the floor, smoke puffing from his head. He was only the first to die. 

We made it to the hanger where my ship was waiting. We ran, again, trying to get inside before Silva's black-and-silver uniformed guards spotted us. Too late... too late for Katie and Lucas, they were shot down, Jen and I couldn't stop, had to leave them there to die, what we had to do was more important... I told her to take the timeship, it was all ready, programmed for 2003. Told her to save Wes and Eric, change the timeline back to what it was meant to be. I had the morphers, gave Jen hers and took mine. Kissed her one last time, before leaving her, had to keep Silva's guards from shooting the ship down before it could escape into the past. 

The memories came faster. The flash as I morphed, the strength and energy pouring into me. I ran to face the enemy, fought them as long as I could, but there were too many, they beat me down with blaster fire, and then I was helpless, demorphed. Klezmi had arrived, with Silva behind him. I looked up into her icy smile and saw death. 

But the last thing I saw was Jen's ship, taking off, starting the journey that would end in the restoration of the original, _right_, timeline. This world should never have existed. Soon, it longer would. I felt no fear, and no pain, as Silva held the blaster to my head and fired. Then there was nothing, only darkness, unreality, non-existence, until the world came back… 

* * *

I woke abruptly, confused and disoriented. There was that same strange sensation of disconnection I had felt twice before, when reality had been altered. Again, a dream of another life whispered around the edges of my mind, and quickly faded. 

The accelerated healing had worked, I felt strong enough to get up and get dressed in the uniform I found waiting in the small bathroom. When I went through the door, Lucas, Trip, and Katie were waiting. I could see the signs of injury on their faces and hands, but they were up and alert, and also back in uniform. They looked agitated. 

"Lucas, Katie, Trip. Are you all right?" 

"Yeah," Katie said with a subdued smile. "We're all fine." 

"Klezmi. We have to go back to 2003, stop what he was trying to do." 

"No," Trip said. "It's already been stopped. Katie and I have been awake for a few hours." They both smiled. "Mutant toughness, I guess. We've been in HQ, doing some research with Rachel, Dagmar, and Sierra, while we waited for you two to wake up." He paused, and smiled again. "Jen stopped it, in 2003. She's alive, back then." 

I just stared at them, unable to take it in. "Jen..." I whispered. But some deep part of me felt it was true, understood it somehow. 

They glanced at each other. "Yes," Trip said. "Not exactly _our_ Jen. Another version of her." 

And suddenly I knew. "It was an alternate reality, again. Wasn't it?" 

"That's what Trip thinks," Katie said. 

"And in that reality..." 

"We figured out what must have happened." Trip said. "We picked up echoes of the other timeline. In it, Wes, Eric, and Mr. Collins had been murdered in 2003. Another company took over Bio-Lab. Time Force was still created, but it was -- different. Klezmi was the director. He did all this to get power. 

"Then, somehow, the Jen in that reality found out what had happened, and went back to 2003, to prevent the change. She did it, prevented Wes and Eric from being killed. The timeline reverted to the original, or something close. And -- she's still there, in our corresponding time." 

I still had a lot of questions, but one thing was clear. "We have to find Klezmi." 

"Right." 

"Okay. Trip, you and I will look for Klezmi at his office. Lucas, Katie, try to find him at home." They nodded. All four of us took off at a run. 

* * *

Twenty minutes later, in front of the computer center, I raised my morpher to my face. "Lucas!" I called. 

_"Alex. What is it?"_

"Klezmi's not here. Did you find anything?" 

_"No. Nothing."_

"Damn. Where would he have gone?" 

"He'll try to go back to 2003 himself," Trip said urgently. "Try to kill Wes, Eric, and Mr. Collins himself. It's the only thing left for him to do." 

"You're right. But how? All our timeships are disabled." 

"Ransik," Trip said softly, his eyes lighting up. 

It hit me. "Of course. The prison ship." The ship Ransik had stolen for his attempt to change history. It had been brought back from 2001, and stored in a remote warehouse. Everyone had forgotten about it. As far as I knew, it was still capable of time travel. 

"Let's go," I said. 

* * *

They were there, all right, I saw them as soon as we burst into the warehouse after a fast trip in our Timeflyers. Klezmi and a small silver-haired woman who looked very familiar. A small crew preparing the battered old prison ship. We stopped just inside the warehouse doors. 

"Silva!" Lucas muttered. "She's a Time Force officer," he went on. "I think I saw her in the hanger, with the maintenance crew, before our timeship blew up." 

"She must have planted that bomb," I answered, before stepping forward. "Klezmi!" I shouted. Pulling out my Time Force badge, I held it up. "You're under arrest." 

"I don't think so!" He ran for the ship. The small form of Silva came flying at us. So did the people working on the ship. I had an instant to wonder at their loyalty before we were fighting. 

Silva came right at me. I was sure now that she was the same woman we had fought before, in that empty office building. Remembering how strong she was, I was also sure she was a mutant. If she got her hands on me, it might be all over. I danced back, just out of her reach, ducking to the side and shooting a kick into her ribs, summoning my blaster at the same time. I wouldn't make the same mistake I had made with Ransik. 

She grabbed at my leg, missing. I fired the blaster, at the stun setting. In a moment I saw it was too light, she hardly seemed to feel it. She sprang at me again, jumping an impossible distance, flying right at me. I dropped, rolling under her, and spun up again behind her, trying to adjust the blaster at the same time. 

She was too fast, she hit the ground and leaped back at me, striking the weapon from my hand. I threw myself to the side, twisting out of her way. She kept going. I caught a flash of Lucas and Katie as they ran past me after her. A quick glance show me that my teammates had taken care of the others, Silva was the only one left. 

Fast, she was so fast... Even as Lucas and Katie fired their blasters at her, she flew at the door of the ship, staggering only slightly as a beam hit her. Then she was through, and the door was closing. The engines were already started, their pitch rising rapidly. 

"Go!" I shouted. "Let's get out of here!" And just in time. We fled as the ship rose and came at us, bursting out into the open and throwing ourselves down as it sent the warehouse wall flying in pieces, watching it send a beam spearing into the sky, opening the familiar whirl of a timehole, and disappearing into it. 

* * *

"How much longer?" I paced nervously, watching a team of technicians working on one of the timeships we used for training flights. With all our official ships out of commission, we had to make do with what we had. That consisted of a training ship hastily outfitted with a timehole generator salvaged from one of the sabotaged ships. 

"Another hour, they tell me." Logan stood beside me, outwardly calm, although I could see his fists clench. 

"Damn. We have to get back there!" 

"Alex, try to relax." Rachel stood on my other side, arms crossed, staring at the ship. Lucas and Katie were near her, talking in low voices. 

"Relax? Klezmi and Silva are there right now. In our corresponding time, in 2003. Probably trying to kill Wes and Eric themselves." 

"Alex. We see no signs of temporal disturbance. There's no reason to think they'll succeed." 

"Maybe. I won't feel safe until those two are locked up." 

"Captain? Alex?" We all turned at the sound of Trip's voice. He had come up behind us, his eyes bright and his face smiling. "I thought I'd take the time to look up the historical record again, see if there are any alterations," he blurted. "You won't believe what I found!" 

"We already know Jen -- or another version of her -- is alive in 2003," I said quietly. 

"Yes," Trip said. "We found records of her in the history of that time." 

"But… what'll happen to her? Her timeline is gone now," Katie asked. 

"I imagine we'll bring her home," Logan said. 

Trip grinned happily. "Maybe not. I don't know what it means. But -- according to history, she stayed in 2003. She married Wes." 

_"What?"_ Logan exclaimed. "How's that possible?" 

"I don't know." 

We were silent until Rachel spoke up. "The timeline's gone through so many changes -- it's been patched together three times now. History has been reconfigured. I guess anything's possible." 

"No," Logan said. "We can't let her stay there. Too dangerous to history." 

"But if she's _part_ of history now, it would be too dangerous to remove her." Rachel glanced at me, then back at Logan. 

"Look into it," he told her. "Get Dagmar and Sierra on it. I want a recommendation as soon as possible." With that, he turned away and headed to the ship, where he began waving his arms at the crew. Lucas and Katie drifted after him. Trip wandered away. 

I found myself smiling at Rachel. She gave me a quizzical look. "I'm sorry, Alex," she said abruptly. 

"Why?" 

"Jen's still alive, but she may not be able to come back." 

"I lost her a long time ago. If she can stay with Wes, at least I know she'll be happy. I'd like that." 

"You would? It wouldn't bother you?" 

"It would bother me not being able to see her. She's still my friend. But -- no, I'd be happy for her." 

She came a little closer. "Do you really mean that?" 

"Yes. I meant what I said, Rachel. I'm over her. I want… someone else now." I reached to take one of her hands. 

"Really?" She began to smile, her head tilting as she looked up at me. "Who?" 

"Someone I'm very close to, right now." 

"Alex!" Lucas's shout claimed my attention. "We're ready! Let's go!" 

"Good luck," she said softly. She tugged at my hand. 

When I stepped closer she slid her arms around my neck, pulling me down to her, her lips meeting mine. There was less softness in that kiss, and more promise. We stared at each other, breathless, when it ended. 

"Alex!" Logan's voice summoned me. 

I grinned. "With this to come back for… I'll make sure this is fast." 

* * *

It was only my second time trip; at least it was a normal one this time. We sped into the black and violet swirl of the timehole, and through its vortex of energy. I was tense, half-expecting our emergency-rigged ship to fall apart at any moment, but it carried us smoothly. Then we shot out, into a darkened sky, over the now-familiar ocean north of Silver Hills. 

"I'm picking up mutant lifesigns. Inland. Got a fix." Lucas threw us a quick smile and turned the ship. We flew over a night landscape of trees and fields. I caught sight of city lights twinkling in the distance. We were all silent. 

"Below us. I'm getting four mutant signs." 

The ship circled above a sprawl of buildings, hard to see in the dark. As we swept lower, I could see the glimmer of lights through a few of the windows. Lucas brought us down to a landing, silently settling us into the grass behind a small grove of trees. 

We morphed before leaving the ship, and approached the building, moving around the walls looking for a way in. After a couple of minutes of searching, I found a large broken window and called the others with my morpher. Soon we were inside, the sensors in our helmets letting us move through the darkness, until we found a door into a central hallway. 

"This way." Trip held up his portable scanner and pointed towards the center of the building. We all followed him through the corridor, seeing lights ahead as we rounded a final turn, then hearing the voices. I took the lead, motioned them to stay behind me, and crept closer, flattened against the wall. 

An unfamiliar voice was speaking. "Klezmi was a traitor to his own kind, and Silva allowed herself to be misled. They turned on our people, for power, for personal gain. Klezmi deserved much worse than death." 

Peering around the doorway, I saw them. The Quantum Ranger -- Eric -- was holding his blaster on a tall, powerful-looking white-skinned mutant whom I recognized as Conwing. Klezmi and Silva lay on the floor. Near them, standing with their backs to me, were Wes and Jen. 

"You could have made Klezmi face the consequences of his actions. Why didn't you help us capture him, instead of killing him?" Jen was asking. 

Conwing answered her. "Klezmi is very dangerous. You don't know much about him. You didn't even know he was a mutant until I told you." 

"What made him so dangerous?" 

"He had two abilities. He could make people believe him, believe _in_ him. He attracted a fanatical loyalty from his followers. You saw that in his woman." He indicated Silva, lying at his feet. "She was once loyal to the mutant cause, until Klezmi got to her. I was only able to turn against him because I've been here for weeks, away from his influence." 

"He tried to persuade me that he was here to help us," Wes said. "For a minute I almost believed him." 

"Given more time, he might have convinced you. That was one of his talents." 

"And the other?" Eric asked. 

"He was sensitive to alternate realities. He could remember every reality he has existed in, and he could sense how to manipulate history to get the results he wanted. He knew just what to do, to manufacture the world he wanted to live in, and he was able to get others to help him. Time Force would have been too weak to execute him, and he would only have tried again." 

"So -- he knew exactly what changes to make in our time, to put himself in power in the future," Wes said slowly. 

"That explains a lot." I started into the room. They all turned to look at us with startled faces. I raised my arm and demorphed as Jen stared at us, starting to smile. "I see we're a little late to help, except to clean up the mess," I added. 

"Alex! Trip… Lucas, Katie…" Jen ran forward to hug me. I held her tight for a moment, the memory of flames and screaming receding a little, finally truly believing she was alive again. Then she was going on to hug the others, and Wes was grinning and hugging them too, and offering me his hand with a more restrained smile. 

Eric's voice brought all of us back to more practical considerations. "Do you think we could put off the reunion long enough to take care of business?" he asked. "Do you guys have any of those containment things handy? We've got prisoners to worry about." 

* * *

TBC... 


	14. In the End

Alex, Jen, Lucas, Trip, Katie, Logan, Wes, Eric, Ransik, Nadira, and Conwing belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, but I am not and do not expect to make money from this.  
Rachel, Lorent, Klezmi, Silva, and a few others in minor roles are mine. 

Rated PG : language; sexuality; violence; some mature concepts. 

Last chapter. This started as a short what-if story, and ended as a novella. I hope some of you have enjoyed it. I have a great deal of fondness for the character of Alex, perhaps because I saw him as a complex and flawed hero, someone truly interesting to write about. This story became an effort to see events through his eyes. 

Many thanks, as always, to everyone who read, even more to everyone who reviewed, and special thanks to all those who reviewed regularly. Your feedback means a lot. Stay tuned for the next story, 'The Time Tunnel'. 

Double Time

* * *

* * *

In the End…

* * *

"Jen had evidence of what Klezmi had done, on dataclip. The kind of world he had created, with him in power, with the mutants much worse off than they are now." I paused for a breath. Logan watched me from the chrono-communicator screen. We were reporting in, Lucas, Trip, Katie, and I, the morning after our arrival back in 2003, giving Logan a brief description of what had happened. 

"Eric gave Jen's dataclips to Conwing. Convinced him that all Klezmi cared about was himself, that he was selling his own people out. Whatever Conwing may be, he's loyal to his cause. He turned on Klezmi, killed him, and captured Silva. And Eric captured Steelix. Wes and Eric are fine. So's Jen." 

"Good work, all of you." 

I glanced around the large, comfortable guest bedroom in the Collins house where I had spent the night. "We really didn't do anything. It was all over when we got here." 

"Well, congratulations anyway." He frowned. "Now. About Jen." 

We all leaned forward with renewed interest. 

"You were right, Trip. According to history, Jen will live the rest of her life there. Dagmar and Sierra think it would be dangerous to remove her." 

"All right!" Trip said quietly but enthusiastically. 

"I still don't understand how this happened," Logan grumbled. 

"It doesn't matter, does it?" I said. "This is where she wants to be, and now she can stay." 

"You said she has memories of our timeline, too?" 

Trip answered him. "Yes, sir. They've been coming back to her, and she remembers almost everything now. She seems to have merged somehow with the Jen of our reality. Maybe because she's been involved in causing timeline shifts, more than once. Maybe because we all took that non-standard time jump a couple of months ago. It's the only explanation." 

"I like that," Katie said slowly. "That means 'our' Jen didn't die, after all. She's here, alive." 

Logan sighed. "I don't understand. All of this merging and timelines and reversed cause and effect and retroactive continuity -- it just gives me a headache." 

Lucas laughed. "Me too. But we don't have to understand it. It still happened." 

"Set up a meeting, with all of us, Jen, Wes, and Eric. I'll officially tell her she can stay." 

"Are you going to let them all keep their morphers?" I asked. 

With a smile, Logan answered. "Absolutely. According to history, they're going to need them." 

After he switched off the communicator, Trip grinned at me. "Alex," he said, "I just thought of something." 

"What?" 

"If Jen's going to marry Wes -- and if you're his descendant…" 

"Oh - My - God." 

"Oh, my _God_!" Katie cried. 

"Oh, my God!" Lucas choked, laughing. 

"Yeah, Alex. She could be your great, great, great, great, and something grandmother!" 

* * *

It was time for goodbyes again. This time Jen wasn't coming with us. At the meeting I had arranged later that morning Logan had told her she had become incorporated into the past. She belonged to this time. And to Wes. I was sad, feeling the pain of losing a friend, yet I couldn't be sorry when I saw her face light up with joy at the news. 

Now we stood on the beach again, where so many goodbyes had taken place. I walked away from the others to stare out over the ocean. That was something that was the same in both times, the ocean never changed, when we arrived home I would see the same view, hear the same waves rushing to shore, watch the same seagulls wheeling in the sky. 

"How are you doing?" 

I turned to see Wes smiling at me, a little uncertainly. I wasn't surprised. Once I got over my jealousy, I had realized what a nice and decent person he really was. "I'm fine," I answered. "Sorry to say goodbye to Jen, of course. But I know she'll be happy." 

"I just want you to know, I'm sorry about how things turned out." 

I smiled back. "No, you're not. You love Jen, and you're very happy she can stay." 

"Well, yeah. But…" 

"Don't worry about me. It's been over between Jen and me for a long time. I was just too stubborn to give up." 

"You'll find someone else. Soon." 

"I think I already have." 

His eyes lit happily. "Really? Anyone I know?" 

I laughed. "That's not likely, is it? No, she's a scientist at Time Force. You never met her. I've known her for years, but I couldn't see past Jen, until now…" 

"I hope it works out. You deserve it." 

"Thanks." We both stood a little awkwardly for a few moments, before I went on. "Wes, a couple of months ago you asked me to take care of Jen for you. Now I can ask you the same thing. Take care of her. Make her happy." 

"I'll sure do my best." 

"It may be a hard adjustment for her." 

He looked over at the others. I glanced and saw Jen hugging Katie. "I know. All I can do is love her." 

"Then she'll be fine." I put out my hand, and we shook, and smiled, all our past hostilities forgotten. 

As we slowly came back to the others, Eric detached himself from the pretty brunette whose hand he had been holding and came over. "Thanks for the help," he said, looking as uncomfortable as he usually did when showing his softer side. 

"You're the one who helped us. You captured Conwing." 

He snorted. "I didn't capture him. He realized what Klezmi was up to and turned against him. Surrendered." 

"Well, from what I hear, you're the one who convinced him of the truth." 

"Maybe," he said with a shrug. "Are you okay?" he went on. "I mean, about Jen." 

"Yeah, I am. I've got someone else now. I think it'll turn out okay. Looks like you're doing okay, too." 

He glanced at the woman who had been briefly introduced to me as Gabriella and smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am." 

"Have you fallen in love, since the last time we met?" 

A grin, now, lighting his face. For the first time, I saw humor and warmth there, and considerable magnetism. "Too soon to tell. But she's a nice girl. Who knows?" 

"I know. You two have some surprises coming..." 

"What? What's going to happen to us?" 

"Can't tell you. Temporal prime directive, and all." 

"Right. I think you're full of shit." He tried to look angry, and failed, the curiosity winning out. 

I couldn't resist. "You know," I said with an answering grin, "You're kind of a personal hero of mine." 

"Huh? Why?" He looked so astonished I had to laugh. 

"Can't tell you that. Just… keep up the good work. And be happy." 

"See ya." He shook my hand when I offered it, still with a skeptical scowl on his face. 

And then, after a brief handshake with Alan Collins, and with Wes and Eric's second-in-command, Steve Miller, the only person left was Jen. We faced each other. Everyone else who was staying in this time tactfully withdrew a few meters away. With equal tact, my teammates disappeared into the ship. 

In that moment I could find nothing to say, and apparently neither could she. Wordlessly we hugged, staying in each other's arms for long, comforting moments as I struggled for self-control, trying to remember this was a good thing, that both of us should expect to be happy… But it was hard. Saying goodbye to someone you love always is. 

Finally we let go and took each other's hands, trying to smile. "Good luck, Jen," I said. "I hope you have a wonderful life here." 

"And you, back home. I hope you'll be happy, too." 

"I think I will." 

"If things had been different…" She hesitated and was silent. 

"Maybe. But I think, now, we're too much alike. Both of us, too serious, too… focused on career and success. You need someone like Wes, who can make you laugh, who's a little more…" 

"Childish?" She grinned. 

"Mmm. Playful. Doesn't take himself too seriously." 

"And how about you? What do you need?" 

"I always thought you were just perfect." I smiled down into her face. "Maybe that was the problem. I never felt that you -- needed me. But now, I think I've found someone who does." 

"I'm glad. And you're wrong. I always needed you. I still love you, in a different way." 

"I know. Real love is like matter and energy. It can't be destroyed, it just -- changes." I released her hands reluctantly. "I'd better go. And you'd better get back to Wes, he looks like he's ready to use that blaster on me. Take care of yourself." 

"You too. I hope we see each other again. Someday." 

"I hope so. Goodbye." 

I kissed her, one last time, raised a hand and wiped a tear from her cheek with my thumb. Then I ran for the ship before I could start crying myself. 

* * *

The ride back passed in a blur. I stared out of the porthole most of the time, not looking at anyone else. All of us were quiet, beyond Lucas's routine announcements as we took off, entered and left the timehole, and landed. Even the awe-inspiring swirl of color and energy surrounding us during our journey didn't really get through. 

She was waiting when I stepped out, hanging back behind Logan. I shook his hand and responded to whatever he said to me, and then finally was face to face with Rachel. The others gave us some room. 

"How did it go?" she asked. 

I shrugged. "It went fine. We brought Conwing, Steelix, and Silva back. Klezmi's dead." 

"And how are you?" 

"I'm fine." 

"Jen?" 

"With Wes. Happy. She's… in the past now." 

Rachel smiled, that warm, bright smile I had learned to love. I leaned in to kiss her, not caring who was watching. Her arms closed around me, and I hugged her tighter, feeling her lips soft against mine, feeling that perhaps I had finally, truly, found what I was looking for. 

Perfect? Nothing is. But damn close. 

* * *

* End *


End file.
